Effects of Exposure to High Temperature and Combustion by Products on Firefighter Saliva: An Evaluation of PH, Flow, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10, Lactoferrin and Lysozyme.

This is a longitudinal study of 40 firefighters, in which the effects of firefighting on saliva were investigated using firefighting simulators. Salivary concentrations of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10, lactoferrin and lysozyme were measured using the ELISA method, and salivary volume and pH were measured before and after firefighting exposure. The concentrations of TNF-α, IL-6, lactoferrin and lysozyme showed no significant changes, in contrast there was a decrease in the concentrations of IL-10 in pH and saliva production of firefighters after acute exposure to firefighting. We conclude that firefighting alters the composition of saliva.