Salivary Transferrin Levels in Patients with Oral Lichen Planus

Objective: To compare salivary transferrin levels between patients with oral lichen planus (OLP) and healthy subjects. Material and Methods: In this descriptive, analytical, crosssectional study, 11 patients with OLP and 22 healthy subjects were selected after matching in terms of age and gender. OLP was confirmed by two oral medicine specialists based on clinical and histopathological criteria. Salivary samples were collected by spitting. The patients were asked to collect their saliva in their oral cavity and then evacuate it into sterilized Falcon tubes. The procedure was repeated every 60 seconds for 5-15 minutes. A total of 5 mL of saliva was collected using this method. The samples were collected from 8 to 9 in the morning in a fasting state to avoid circadian changes. The collected salivary samples were immediately placed next to ice and transferred to the laboratory to be centrifuged at 4°C at 800 g to isolate squamous cells and cellular debris. Then the samples were frozen at -80°C until the samples were prepared. An ELISA kit was used to determine salivary transferrin levels. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) and t-test for independent groups using SPSS 17. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results: The mean salivary transferrin concentrations in patients with OLP and healthy subjects were 0.9055±0.28229 and 1.5932±0.80041 mg/dL, respectively (p<0.05). Conclusion: The salivary transferrin levels in patients with OLP were significantly lower than those in healthy subjects.

Effect of Home Bleaching on the Color Matching of Composite Resin Restorations

Objective: To investigate the effect of home bleaching on color matching between the dental restoration and the adjacent tooth structure after the staining process. Material and Methods: Ten intact maxillary central incisors were used. After preparation (semimesial restoration of the specimens), the specimens were immersed in a colored solution for 14 days and then were washed and the bleaching process was there after performed. A spectrophotometer apparatus was used to determine the color of the specimens in the part of the tooth filled with restorative material three times, including before the staining process, fourteen days after the staining process and immediately after the bleaching process. Paired t-test was employed to compare the color of the intact tooth and the dental restoration before and after the staining and bleaching processes. The level of significance was set at 5%. Results: Pre-bleaching E color of the teeth was 68.1, which increased to 78.8% after bleaching, and this increase was also statistically significant (p<0.001). Pre and Post-bleaching E color of composite restorations was 65% and 77.6%, respectively. This increase was also statistically significant (p<0.001). Postbleaching E color of the tooth and composite material was 78.8% and 77.6%, respectively. This difference was not statistically significant (p=0.342). Conclusion: The staining and bleaching processes had a significant effect on the discoloration of the dental restoration and the tooth; however, the application of bleaching on the teeth and composite improved the tooth composite color-match.