Treatment relieves oxidative stress in periodontitis

Jan 3 2013

By medwireNews Reporters

Nonsurgical periodontal therapy significantly reduces oxidative stress in individuals with chronic periodontitis, research shows.

In smokers and nonsmokers, the total oxidant status (TOS) as measured from gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) was significantly reduced 6 weeks after nonsurgical periodontal therapy.

In nonsmokers, total antioxidant status (TAS) levels were also significantly higher in the moderate and deep pocket sites 6 weeks after periodontal treatment.

"To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the possible effects of both smoking and initial phase of periodontal treatment on GCF and serum total oxidant capacity and total antioxidant capacity in periodontitis patients," state lead author Aysun Akpinar (Cumhuriyet University, Sivas, Turkey) and colleagues.

As reported in the Archives of Oral Biology, the researchers investigated the changes in TOS and TAS levels in GCF and serum in 29 smokers and nonsmokers with chronic periodontitis undergoing nonsurgical periodontal therapy.

They point out that there is an abundance of cross-sectional data supporting an adverse relationship between smoking and periodontal diseases, with smokers four times more likely to have severe periodontitis than nonsmokers. Although the exact method by which smoking exerts its deleterious effect is unknown, it is believed that tissue damage is mediated by the oxidative species from tobacco smoke and tobacco-induced inflammation.

In the present study, the researchers observed significant improvements after periodontal treatment in smokers and nonsmokers.

The improvement was evident at moderate and deep pocket sites for probing pocket depth (PD) and clinical attachment level values, but there was a significant difference in PD values between smokers and nonsmokers at 6 weeks.

The plaque index and gingival index were also improved in both groups 6 weeks after periodontal therapy, but there was no significant difference observed between the smokers and nonsmokers.

Among the additional laboratory findings, the researchers observed no improvement in the GCF-TAS levels in the moderate and deep pocket sites of smokers after periodontal treatment.

"The results of the present study suggest that significant oxidative stress may occur in periodontitis," conclude Akpinar et al. "Nonsurgical therapy seems to restore and control the levels of TAS and TOS."

They say that further studies are needed to determine if oxidant status is a cause of periodontitis, and these studies might lead to targeting oxidant status as a potential therapy for periodontitis.

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