A combined microbial colonization/antibody response profile can effectively discriminate between periodontitis patients and periodontally intact controls.

The composite genotype failed to distinguish between periodontitis patients and controls but correlated in patients with the severity of the disease and the antibody responses to periodontal microbiota.

Conspicuous differences in IgG titers to periodontal bacteria exist between periodontitis patients and periodontally healthy controls. Despite successful periodontal therapy, titers remained elevated over a 30-month period, suggesting that serology may mark the history of past periodontal infection.

The present data failed to demonstrate a clinically relevant relationship between the Fcgamma receptor IIa (131R/H) or IIIb (NA1/NA2) polymorphism and periodontal status.

Checkerboard serology may be useful in providing surrogate markers for clinical periodontal status when such data are not readily available and, thus may serve as a valuable complement in the armamentarium of epidemiologic tools suited for the study of periodontal diseases.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the clinical, radiographical and microbiological outcome after using guided tissue regeneration (GTR) with a bioabsorbable membrane, Resolut. Subjects with bilateral infrabony defects at single rooted teeth were selected. A total of 22 teeth, 2 in each 1 of 7 patients and 4 in 2 patients, with probing pocket depth > or =5 mm, 3 months after scaling, participated. At baseline, assessments of plaque and gingival indices, bleeding on probing, probing pocket depth and probing attachment level were recorded and reproducible radiographs for computer-based bone level measurements were taken. Bacterial samples were collected to investigate the presence of periodontitis-associated bacteria, e.g., Porphyromonas/Prevotella- and Fusobactrium-like micro-organisms. One tooth was randomly treated with GTR and the contralateral with an open debridement procedure as a control. Clinical, radiographical and microbiological examinations were repeated 6 and 12 months postoperatively. Both procedures demonstrated a statistically significant improvement of gingival conditions, reduction of pocket depths and gain of attachment. When evaluating the differences between test and control teeth, none of the clinical parameters yielded statistical difference. Computer-based bone-level measurements showed only small differences in the majority of both test and control sites. The differences were not significant. Periodontitis-associated bacteria were present at baseline, but the appearance was not related to any specific site or patient and did not demonstrate any unwanted change in the 6- and 12-month samples. The findings suggest that the clinical, radiographical and microbiological improvements were not significantly enhanced with the GTR therapy.

The aim of the present investigation was to study the influence of an increased tooth mobility on the resistance offered by the periodontal tissues to probing. 6 beagle dogs were used. At the start of the experiment, the animals had clean teeth and normal gingival and periodontal conditions. In each dog, a device was installed in the lower left jaw quadrant to expose the third premolar (P3) to jiggling forces which would enhance the mobility of this "test" tooth. The contralateral tooth served as the non-jiggled control. During the 3 months of experimentation, the teeth of the dogs were cleaned on a regular basis. Clinical examinations including tooth mobility measurements were performed on days 0 and 90. After the examination on Day 90, a probe was inserted in the buccal "pocket" of the mesial root of 3P and P3. The probe was retained with composite. Biopsies including the test or control tooth with adjacent buccal periodontal tissues were harvested, fixed and decalcified. Each biopsy was divided in one mesial and one distal portion (root). The distal portion was embedded in Epon, sectioned and stained in PAS and toluidine blue, while the mesial portion, following probe removal was embedded in paraffin, sectioned and stained in hematoxylin-eosin. The sections were exposed to histometric and morphometric measurements. The findings demonstrated that tissue alterations which occur at mobile teeth may reduce the resistance offered by the periodontal tissues to clinical probing. Such alterations include (i) reduced height of the alveolar bone, (ii) reduced amount of collagen, and increased vascularity in the enlarged supracrestal connective tissue.

Background: This study addresses whether checkerboard assessments of serum IgG antibodies to oral bacteria may serve as surrogate markers of clinical periodontal status in epidemiologic studies. Method: The analysis involved data from 205 subjects, 132 periodontitis patients and 73 periodontally‐intact controls, from whom full‐mouth clinical periodontal data and serum IgG titers against 19 periodontal bacterial species were available. Results: A logistic regression model involving titers against 6 species (Porphyromonas gingivalis, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Eubacterium nodatum, Eikenella corrodens, Capnocytophaga ochracea and Actinomyces naeslundii genospecies 2) classified correctly 74.5% of the subjects examined, with 84% sensitivity, 57.5% specificity, 78% positive predictive value and 66.7% negative predictive value. Conclusions: Checkerboard serology may be useful in providing surrogate markers for clinical periodontal status when such data are not readily available and, thus may serve as a valuable complement in the armamentarium of epidemiologic tools suited for the study of periodontal diseases.