Salivary biomarkers of oral health: a cross-sectional study.

AIM: Saliva is a useful diagnostic fluid for oral-related diseases. Monitoring salivary biomarkers for oral and systemic diseases could become an important complement to clinical examinations in epidemiological surveys. Recent findings indicate that it is possible to detect biomarkers for oral diseases within saliva samples. The aim of this study was to investigate if known salivary biomarkers could be used for epidemiological studies for detection of periodontitis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A randomly selected sample of adults (20-89 years) living in Southern Sweden were invited to participate. Four hundred and fifty-one individuals were examined clinically using standard examination procedures. Stimulated saliva samples were collected and analysed for concentrations of IL-1β, -6, -8, lysozyme, matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-8 and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1 using ELISA, immunofluorometric assay or Luminex assays.

RESULTS: Patients with severe periodontitis presented with elevated salivary concentrations of IL-1β (p < 0.001) and MMP-8 (p < 0.001). In addition, the MMP-8/TIMP-1 ratio was significantly higher in the severe periodontitis group (p < 0.001). Smokers compared with non-smokers showed slightly lower concentrations of IL-8 (p < 0.05) and MMP-8 (p = 0.052).

CONCLUSION: This investigation shows that IL-1β, MMP-8 and the ratio of MMP-8/TIMP-1 could be used as markers of periodontal disease in larger patient populations.