Implementing of aMMP‐8 point‐of‐care test with a modified new disease classification in Finnish adolescent cohorts

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Periodontitis is a multifactorial biofilm‐induced inflammatory disease; however, clinical and radiographic information reflects events that have already occurred. aMMP‐8 lateral‐flow chairside or point‐of‐care‐test (POC‐test) results have also come to complement the overall status of the patient's current situation. The current study aimed to clarify the usefulness of aMMP‐8 chairside‐test (aMMP‐8 POCT) results to alert the initial or early periodontitis in adolescents, a potential periodontitis risk group with cut off 20 ng/ml in Stage I periodontitis, according to the current periodontitis classification system. Material and Methods A total of 117 adolescents were aMMP‐8 POC tested for aMMP‐8 levels and examined for the full mouth and were interviewed for questions concerning health behavior. Results Of all 117 participants, N = 38 (32.5%) was aMMP‐8 POCT positive, and N = 34 (29.1%) had at least one 4 mm periodontal deepened pocket; however, only N = 16 (13.7%) had both characteristics. The subclinical stage (N = 47) could not be classified either as gingivitis or Stage I. Of the participants, who did not have any deepened periodontal pockets, 18 tested negative. Conclusions Stage I is preceded by antecedent stages that should be tackled by oral healthcare prevention and personalized treatment modalities by professionals. Elevated (>20 ng/ml), positive aMMP‐8 POCT results can be regarded as initial alarmer such as emerging risk. This should be utilized in the preventive personalized interventions by oral health professionals.

Keywords

• adolescent
• gingivitis
• matrix metalloproteinase 8
• periodontitis