Salivary and serum alkaline phosphatase as biomarkers in type 2 diabetes mellitus: Association with periodontal health and disease.

Chronic periodontitis in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) requires reliable biomarkers for early detection and monitoring. Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate serum and salivary alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels in 90 participants divided into healthy controls, diabetics with healthy periodontium and diabetics with chronic periodontitis. Salivary and serum ALP levels increased progressively across the groups and were significantly highest in diabetics with periodontitis (p < 0.001). Strong correlations were observed between salivary ALP, serum ALP and periodontal parameters such as probing depth and clinical attachment loss. Salivary ALP shows strong potential as a non-invasive biomarker for periodontal tissue destruction in diabetic patients.