Estimation and Comparison of Salivary Calcium, Phosphorous, Alkaline Phosphatase and pH Levels in Periodontal Health and Disease: A Cross-sectional Biochemical Study

Abstract

Introduction: In oral diagnostics there is a great challenge to determine biomarkers for screening and evaluating the disease activity. Biomarkers can also serve as a useful tool to measure the efficacy of the therapy. Aim: To evaluate and compare the levels of salivary calcium, phosphorous, alkaline phosphatase and pH levels in periodontally healthy subjects and patients with gingivitis and periodontitis. Materials and Methods: The present study consisted of 150 subjects aged between 20-45 years who were divided into three groups; periodontally healthy, gingivitis and chronic periodontitis. Prior to the clinical examination the demographic details, relevant information of the subject, gingival index, plaque index, Oral Hygiene Index (OHI) and pH were recorded. Biochemical assay of saliva i.e., inorganic calcium, phosphorous and alkaline phosphatase were estimated by colorimetric method. ANOVA and Tukey’s test were applied for statistical analysis. Results: The mean levels of biomarkers studied were; inorganic calcium (12.55µg/dl), phosphorous (14.50µg/dl), alkaline phosphatase (49.62µg/dl) and pH (11.65). There was a gradual increase in these levels as the condition progressed from health to gingivitis or periodontitis which was statistically significant at p<0.001. Conclusion: Based on these results, it can be concluded that, the biomarkers like salivary calcium, phosphorous, alkaline phosphatase and pH can be considered for evaluating the diagnosis and prognosis of periodontal tissues in disease and health.

Keywords

• biomarker
• gingivitis
• periodontitis
• saliva