A STUDY OF HUMAN ORAL LEUCOCYTES IN RELATION TO CARIES INCIDENCE

The relationship of oral leucocytes to caries incidence was evaluated on the basis of leucocyte enumeration, disintegration, and glucose metabolism. No correlation was observed between the number of white cells entering the oral cavity and caries activity in humans. Similarly, studies using stimulated saliva failed to establish a relationship between caries inclination and either leucocyte content or their rate of disintegration. Metabolic studies demonstrated that leucocytes do not significantly influence the rate of glucose oxidation of whole saliva or saliva fractions. The removal of leucocytes from saliva by dextran sedimentation did not decrease the glucolytic capacity of the mammalian cell fraction. Moreover, the addition of white corpuscles isolated from blood did not appreciably stimulate the rate of acid production, oxygen uptake, or carbon dioxide evolution of the test systems. The glucolytic activity of the mammalian cell fraction was related to the presence of epithelial cells. © 1968.