Assessment of Saliva Lead and Cadmium Levels and Its Association with Dental Caries in Fuel Stations Workers in the City of Nasiriyah

According to certain notions, saliva can be a helpful indicator of environmental contamination, especially exposure to heavy metals like lead and cadmium. The study examined the associations between salivary lead and cadmium level with the dental caries: 35 saliva samples of workings in gasoline stations were analyzed for lead and cadmium . A clinical oral examination was performed using the World Health Organization's criteria to identify carious lesions. The median (range) (0.128 ± 0.056) μg/dl concentration of lead in the saliva of fuel stations workers was significantly higher than the median (range) of control group  (p< 0.05). The results obtained also showed that the values of saliva lead levels in many workers were higher than action and upper limits acceptable for age > 35 years at p. value < 0.05 while Cd level a significant increase of Cd level in patients that age ≤ 35 years, while decrease in patients that age > 35 years. In fuel station workers, the duration of exposure to leaded fuel was significantly correlated with the saliva lead level. Also significant differences in saliva lead and cadmium concentrations were found in relation to smoking. The current study showed a significant increase of both Cd and Pb levels in caries patients those who did not take care of oral hygiene compared with those who take care of oral hygiene the medium range (0.083 ± 0.032) of lead and (0.0344 ± 0.008) of cadmium. The salivary lead level significantly correlated with the dental caries. The findings showed that tooth caries is associated with high levels of heavy metals in saliva. According to the current research, saliva might be a suitable substitute for biological lead exposure monitoring.