RESUMO
Normal salivary function is considered to be critical for the maintenance of healthy oral mucosa. Oral fluids provide an easily available non-invasive for the diagnosis of a wide range of diseases and clinical situations. The present study evaluated the variations in the biochemical constituents of saliva of leukoplakia and oral cancer patients when compared with that of the control group. 90 individuals were grouped into 6 categories with 15 individuals in each group. The groups included individuals without tobacco or alcohol habits, tobacco smokers, tobacco chewers, alcohol consumers, leukoplakia and oral cancer patients. There was significant alteration in the salivary biochemical composition of leukoplakia and oral cancer patients which could be attributed to the impairment of salivary gland function caused by tobacco and alcohol usage or by the disease process itself.