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Evaluation of oral rinse elastase in patients with periodontal diseases

University of British Columbia

The present study is a follow-up to a previous study by Uitto et al. (1996) on salivary elastase activity in periodontal diseased patients. It was carried out in an attempt to understand why oral elastase activity is low in a small patient population with periodontitis while it is high in most patients. Oral rinse samples were collected at one or more occasions in patients with different levels of periodontal disease (n=43) and in healthy subjects (n=20). Subgroups of smokers (n=l 1) and patients with early onset forms of periodontal disease (EOP) (n=3) were also included in the study. Salivary elastase activity and PMN and epithelial cell counts were determined for each patient. Post operatory salivary samples for some of the patients (n=9) were also measured for elastase activity. The specificity of the salivary elastase test was 85%. Smokers and EOP patients affected the sensitivity of the salivary elastase test as a majority of these patients had low elastase activity in their samples. The study also found a correlation between the number of PMNs and elastase activity in patients with periodontitis compared with healthy subjects. These cells were twice as numerous in periodontitis patients compared to healthy subjects. Since a majority of periodontitis patients showed true positive results this test may have some value as a home diagnostic test prior to any dental appointment in subjects who are at risk for periodontal disease. Future studies are needed however to determine if this test should be limited to subjects in a certain age group category and/or in subjects who are otherwise in good general health and those who do not smoke.

Thesis/Dissertation

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2009-03-21

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/6335

Oral Biology and Medical Sciences

University of British Columbia

UBCV

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