ABSTRACT
Gingivitis is a reversible and non-destructive form of periodontal disease. Oxidative stress contributes in the pathogenesis of periodontal diseases5. The oxidative stress has been implicated as one of the important contributory etiologic factors in many of the oral inflammatory pathologies including gingivitis. This research analyzed the "Total antioxidant capacity" (TAC) of biological fluids including saliva. The present cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of saliva in children with/ without gingivitis and its relation with Age and Gender. For measuring the TAC of saliva: Cayman's Antioxidant Assay Kit was used and Gingival Index Measured through The Gingival Index (Löe and Silness, 1963). The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and making comparisons between cases and control by using SPSS software version 20. In this result, mean TAC of saliva in case children group was found lower 0.203 ± 0.053 compared to control children group was higher 0.236 ± 0.048. While, in male and female children of aged 3-5 years were found antioxidant activity (TAC) lower in compared to control groups. But among males aged 6-13 years it was found that the mean antioxidant capacity of saliva in case group was 0.259 ± 0.040 while in control group it was 0.295 ± 0.026. The TAC of saliva in males was found high compared to female. A weak negative correlation was found between the TAC and gingival index. In conclusion TAC decreases in children with gingivitis compared to healthy children. The gingivitis was more observed in female leading to lower TAC value