Objective: Traumatic ulcers are oral mucosal lesions that are often encountered with the healing process of wounds involving inflammatory mediators and phagocytosis rocess. Phagocytosis can produce free radicals that the potential to cause cells damage and lipid peroxidation. Lipid peroxidation produce malondialdehyde (MDA) as end products. Saliva is a biological specimen can detect MDA level in oxidative stress condition. This study aims to analyse differences in levels of salivary MDA in traumatic ulcer participants compared to healthy individual subjects. Material and Methods: The research methods was cross sectional study. MDA levels measured in saliva of 50 subjects, aged 20-25 years. Traumatic ulcer lesion subjects and healthy individual without lesions would be taken unstimulated saliva samples. Salivary MDA levels determined with TBARs method. Data were analyzed statistically with Mann Whitney's test (p < 0.05).
Results: Showed that there were differences in salivary MDA levels in traumatic ulcer participants compared to healthy individual subjects ( p = 0.0001 ).
Conclusion: Free radicals have been implicated in the pathogenesis of oral mucosal lesions, including traumatic ulcer. Increase in MDA levels in the saliva of participants may provide a biomarker for oxidative stress in oral mucosa disease.
Keywords: Malondialdehyde, Saliva, Traumatic ulcer