The short-term effects of non-surgical periodontal therapy on the circulating levels of interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein in patients with chronic periodontitis.

BACKGROUND

Recent epidemiological studies have shown that periodontal infection is a risk factor for a number of systemic diseases and conditions. In addition to the conventional risk factors, chronic infection and the subsequent generation of a systemic inflammatory response may be associated with this increased risk.

AIMS

This study was conducted to determine whether the presence of chronic periodontitis and subsequent non-surgical periodontal therapy could influence the serum levels of interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients with severe chronic generalized periodontitis.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN

Participants were selected from subjects who attended the Department of Periodontics and Oral Implantololgy, Government Dental College, Thiruvananthapuram.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Sera were obtained from 25 patients with periodontitis for baseline examination and reassessment after completion of treatment. As a control, sera were also obtained from 20 subjects without periodontitis. Interleukin-6 was determined by sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and high-sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) was measured using latex turbidometric immunoassay.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

Data were analyzed using computer software, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 10.

RESULTS

The level of interleukin-6 and hsCRP in the sera of periodontitis patients was seen to be higher than those of healthy controls. Interleukin-6 level tended to decrease with improvement of the periodontal condition following treatment and approached that of control subjects, and this decline was statistically significant. The hsCRP levels also showed a decreasing trend following periodontal treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, we were able to show that periodontal disease significantly affects the serum levels of systemic inflammatory markers and that non-surgical periodontal therapy could bring about a decrease in the levels of these inflammatory markers.