Background and Objective: The level of fasting blood sugar (FBS) must be regularly monitored in diabetic patients. Unlike blood, saliva sampling is a noninvasive technique, saliva glucose was evaluated in controlled and uncontrolled type 1 diabetes mellitus (T₁DM) children in this study.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 40 uncontrolled T₁DM and 40 controlled T₁DM children were enrolled. The FBS and stimulated and unstimulated saliva glucose was assayed by the GOD-POP method and analyzed by an unpaired Student’s t-test.
Findings: Serum and stimulated saliva glucose levels were higher in the uncontrolled T₁DM than that in the controlled T₁DM. However, there was no significant difference in unstimulated saliva between the two groups. Serum glucose had a positive correlation with unstimulated (r=0.403; p<0.001) and stimulated (r=0.232; p=0.005) salivary glucose levels. The stimulated and unstimulated salivary flow rate was significantly lower in uncontrolled T₁DM.
Conclusion: Stimulated salivary glucose level similar to serum was higher in uncontrolled T₁DM than in controlled T₁DM children. Therefore, it may be suitable as an alternative for serum glucose to monitor T₁DM patients.