Proinflammatory factors in saliva as possible markers for periodontal disease.

Studies have indicated that host inflammatory proteins, enzymes and indicators of bone metabolism present in saliva differ in different types of periodontal disease. However, the number of markers analyzed was limited and the effect of edentulousness was not examined. We measured the concentration of host inflammatory proteins: C-reactive protein (CRP), C3 and C4 complement components, alpha-2-macroglobulin (alpha-2M) and tumor-necrosis factor (TNF) in unstimulated saliva of 14 periodontally healthy (PH), 9 edentulous persons (EP), 10 patients with chronic periodontitis (CP) and 18 with aggressive periodontitis (AgP).

[Markers of periodontal destruction in saliva of periodontitis patients].

Unlabelled: Periodontal diseases result from interactions between periodontal microflora and the multifaceted response of the host. Markers of this interrelationship can be found in gingival crevicular fluid and saliva samples indicating early periodontal disease activity. Studies of host defense mediators in saliva of patients with periodontal diseases are very scarce.