These results suggest that MCP-1 could have an important role in the activation and recruitment of inflammatory and immune cells in periodontal diseases, and both AgP and CP patients may have the same pattern of MCP-1 expression. A strong positive correlation between the GCF levels of MCP-1 and TNF-alpha may account for the mechanism of amplification of inflammatory events in gingival inflammation.

This study investigated the psychological well-being and overall health of a group of Turkish dental students and their sources of stress. Two hundred and seventy-seven students (57 percent female) from Gazi University Dental Faculty completed the Dental Environment Stress (DES) questionnaire, the Psychological General Well-Being (PGWB) index, and the SF-36 Health Survey. The results showed that the DES scores increased over the ive-year period. Pressure to perform, faculty and administration, workload, and students' perceptions of their self-eficacy were the most stress-provoking factors. Students whose irst choice was dentistry experienced less stress and fewer health problems (p<0.05) than students whose irst choice had not been dentistry. Psychological well-being and overall health were signiicantly associated with year of study. Statistically signiicant gender differences were observed on depressed mood and anxiety dimension scores of PGWB. Female students experienced greater stress than males, while male students had better overall health than females (p<0.01). Students who lived with their parents had lower PGWB scores (p<0.05). Age was signiicantly related with the DES and PGWB scores. These results found that stress among these Turkish dental students was inluenced by gender, year of study, social background, and lifestyle. Based on the results of this study, recommendations can be made for changes in the dental education system in order to reduce stress among dental students especially during the last two years of study.

Localized juvenile periodontitis (LJP) is an early‐onset periodontal disease characterized by progressive bone loss involving the permanent first molar and incisor teeth. Approximately 70% to 75% of LJP patients have impaired neutrophil Chemotaxis towards a number of chemoattractants including N‐formyl‐methionyl‐leucyl‐phenylalanine, complement fragment C5a, leukotriene B4, and interleukin 8 (IL‐8). The aim of the present study was to observe the role of IL‐8 in the pathogenesis of LJP. Fourteen individuals who were systemically and periodontally healthy and 24 systemically healthy individuals diagnosed with LJP (based on the results of clinical periodontal assessments and radiographic examination) were recruited for this study. Gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) samples were obtained from anterior teeth in each subject before treatment. After evaluation of GCF amount from paper strips, enzyme‐linked immunoabsorbent assay was employed to determine the amount of IL‐8 in GCF. The amount and concentration of IL‐8 measured was 894.5 ± 435 pg, and 445.3 ± 468 pg/pl for the experimental group and 747.3 ± 543 pg and 684.7 ± 548 pg/μl, for the control group. The correlation among the levels of cytokine and clinical parameters was assessed. It was observed that the concentration of IL‐8 demonstrated a negative correlation with gingival index in the LJP group. In addition, no significant correlation was found among the total amount and concentration of IL‐8, GCF volume, and clinical parameters in the control group. IL‐8 is thought to enhance host defense mechanisms against Gram‐negative bacteria, thus providing protection against periodontal infections. Our data demonstrate that, when both the total amount and concentration of IL‐8 are taken into consideration, no significant difference between LJP and healthy subjects is shown. This may indicate a less active IL‐8 production compared with healthy subjects in spite of the dense Gram bacterial stimulation in LJP. J Periodontol 1998;69:1299–1304.

These data suggest that the presence of ALP in GCF is not simply a reflection of the local inflammation state and that a patient's estrogen status may possibly influence local ALP levels in GCF.

A study was conducted to evaluate using SEM the earliest events of initial blood clot formation on periodontally diseased root surfaces given various treatments. Six teeth with periodontal disease were extracted from six different subjects and were studied in two individual groups. In the first group the root surfaces were divided into three individual treatment areas: (a) intact periodontal ligament, (b) planed, (c) planed and also treated with 1% citric acid. The root surfaces in the second group were likewise divided into three treatment areas: (a) intact periodontal ligament, (b) planed, (c) planed and topically conditioned with tetracycline HCl. All the roots were reinserted into the original extraction sites, and then removed at either "zero" (less than 5 s), one or 3 min and prepared for SEM evaluation. It was observed that organized clot formation occurred more rapidly in the treatment areas where both root planing and topical conditioning with tetracycline HCl had been done.