Correlation between concentrations of salivary and gingival crevicular fluid inflammatory cytokines in patients with gingivitis and periodontitis and healthy individuals.

Background: This study compared tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interlukin-1β (IL-1β) concentrations in the saliva and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) of patients with gingivitis and periodontitis and healthy individuals.

Methods: In this study, 45 patients (n=15 in each group) were selected, and the concentrations of inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1β in their salivary and GCF samples were measured using the ELISA method. Shapiro-Wilk test, one-way analysis of variance, post hoc Bonferroni test, and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used to analyze the data.

Results: According to the results of the post hoc Bonferroni test, the mean salivary and GCF levels of TNF-α and IL-1β in healthy individuals were significantly lower than those with periodontitis (P<0.05) and gingivitis (P<0.05). Also, the mean levels of TNF-α and IL-1β in the saliva and GCF of patients with periodontitis were significantly higher than patients with gingivitis (P<0.05).

Conclusion: Based on the findings of the study, saliva, like GCF, can be considered a source for monitoring the markers related to periodontal disease. However, more uniformity was observed in GCF than in saliva in terms of alignment of markers secretion.