Biomarkers in Periodontal Diseases

To further advance the field, large validation studies are needed to confirm these data and investigate if salivary biomarkers are confounded by age, gender, race, smoking, presence of oral inflammatory conditions, or co-morbid conditions. We believe that validation studies could lead to their use in point-of-care devices that could have a major impact on periodontal care. One can envision that these devices could be used to assess periodontal health similar to the way a glucometer assesses blood glucose in diabetic subjects. Specific biomarkers (i.e., MMP-8, OPG, MIP-1a, IL-1b) levels above set thresholds might suggest immediate therapy would be beneficial, similar to how insulin is provided when glucose is elevated in a diabetic. In turn, individualized periodontal care based on salivary biomarker levels could be provided in the near future and these analyses could become an integral part of the assessment of periodontal health in dental and non-dental settings.