Ferritin as a predictive salivary marker for ECC-III

Dental caries is a prevalent disease with a significant impact on children. Saliva, containing various organic and inorganic substances, may serve as a biomarker for identifying dental caries. Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate the correlation between salivary ferriti levels and ECC-III in 60 children aged 4-5 years, divided into a caries-free control group and an ECC-III group (≥5 decayed, absent, or filled teeth). Salivary ferritin levels were measured using a diagnostic kit, and statistical analysis showed significantly higher levels in the ECC-III group compared to controls (p < 0.0001). Thus, we show salivary ferritin may serve as a simple, non-invasive biomarker for assessing severity and predicting progression of ECC.