Periodontal inflammatory burden correlates with C-reactive protein serum level

Abstract

Objective. The aim of study was to present a new method for evaluation of the periodontal inflammatory burden, to apply the method to the adult population and to correlate it with serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP). Materials and methods. On 515 extracted teeth was measured the neck circumferences (NC). The average values of the NC were obtained for 16 male and 16 female individual tooth types. In the clinical part of this study 238 dentate subjects were included. The subgingival area, inflamed area and periodontal wound size were calculated from NC, probing depth and BOP. The sum of the inflamed and ulcerated subgingival areas of all teeth represented the total periodontal inflammatory burden of an individual. Serum levels of CRP were measured by immunochemical method. Results. The average subgingival area in 238 subjects was calculated to be 13.11 ± 6.35 cm² and inflammatory burden area 9.25 ± 5.57 cm². The periodontal bleeding wound (p < 0.05) was significantly larger in men. The increased serum levels of CRP correlated with periodontal inflammatory burden (p < 0.05). Conclusions. This new method quantifies the inflammatory burden caused by periodontal disease. The size of the inflammatory burden is correlated with increased serum levels of CRP.

Key Words::

• C-reactive protein
• inflammatory burden
• periodontal wound
• tooth neck circumferences

Acknowledgment

This study was supported by a grant from Slovenian Research Agency, Ljubljana, Slovenia (No. P3-0293). The authors report no conflicts of interest related to this study.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.