The humoral response in patients with periodontitis: effects of treatment and prospects for a vaccine.

Research indicates that human periodontitis is caused by bacteria. Although the roles of host factors are not clear, these factors are important in the development of this disease. The immune response that occurs in patients with infectious diseases, and that eventually arrests the process of the infection, does not appear to happen in patients with periodontitis. This article presents the results of studies that attempted to determine if periodontitis patients mount a humoral response during the course of their infection, if the antibodies produced are protective, and, if not, why these reactions fail to occur or why they are ineffective in halting the disease.