Estimation and Comparison of Levels of Salivary Nitric Oxide in Patients with Oral Lichen Planus and Controls

Background: normal salivary function is considered to be criticalfor the maintenance of healthy oral mucosa. oral fluids providean easily available, non?invasive medium for the diagnosis of widerange of diseases and clinical situations. the objective of thisstudy was to estimate and compare salivary nitric oxide levels inpatients with oral lichen planus and healthy individuals.methods: saliva was collected by spitting method. unstimulatedwhole saliva thus collected was refrigerated at 4°c, and processedwithin 24 h for the estimation of nitric oxide levels which was doneusing griess reaction. the results were analyzed using student’s“t” test.results: there was statistically significant difference in the levelsof salivary nitric oxide between the study and control groups.conclusions: the present study clearly indicates a significantincrease in salivary nitric oxide levels in oral lichen planus patientsas compared to controls.