Journal of AdvancedMedical and Dental Sciences Research

Introduction: Periodontitis is defined as an inflammatory disease of supporting tissues of teeth caused by specific microorganisms or groups of specific microorganisms, resulting in progressive destruction of the periodontal ligament and alveolar bone mediated by pro-inflammatory mediators. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) is an important pro-inflammatory mediator that produced causes destruction of periodontal tissues. Aim: The aim of the study is to estimate the salivary TNF-α in chronic and aggressive periodontitis and control subjects and further correlate the levels with clinical parameter such as gingival index (GI), plaque index (PI), probing pocket depth (PPD) and clinical attachment loss. Materials and methods: The study consisted of 90 subjects divided into  groups Groups 1 (control), 2 (generalized chronic periodontitis) and 3(aggressive periodontitis). Salivary samples from the participants were used to assess the TNF-α levels using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: GI and PI were found to be significantly higher in chronic and aggressive periodontitis compared to the controls. The mean TNF-α value in chronic periodontitis patients (11.8±0.40pg/ml) and aggressive periodontitis patients (10.4±0.52) was significantly higher than in control subjects (3.6±0.25 pg/ml). Among periodontitis patients, aggressive periodontitis subjects exhibited a significant positive correlation between the salivary TNF-α and PPD. Conclusion: Salivary TNF-α levels are significantly higher in chronic periodontitis than in healthy subjects, but there was no significant correlation with the clinical parameters.
Key words: Chronic periodontitis, Aggressive periodontitis, tumor necrosis factor.