Is periodontal therapy an effective treatment modality for preventing or managing cardiovascular disease in patients with periodontitis?

DATA SOURCES: Cochrane Oral Health Information specialist searched databases: Cochrane Oral Health's Trials Register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials in the Cochrane diary, MEDLINE Ovid, Embase Ovid, CINAHL EBSCO and Open Grey up to 17 November 2021 without language, publication status or year restriction. Additionally, Chinese Bio Medical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and VIP database were searched up to 4 March 2022. For ongoing trials, the US National Institutes of Health Trials Register, the World Health Organization (WHO) Clinical Trials Registry Platform (up to 17 November 2021), and Sciencepaper Online (up to 4 March 2022) were also searched. A reference list of included studies, hand searching for important journals, and Chinese professional journals in the relevant field was performed until March 2022. STUDY SELECTION: Authors screened the articles on the basis of their titles and abstracts. Duplicates were removed. Full-text publications were evaluated. Any disagreement was resolved by discussion amongst themselves or in consultation with a third reviewer. Only randomised controlled trials assessing the effects of periodontal treatment on participants having chronic periodontitis with cardiovascular disease (CVD) (secondary prevention) or without cardiovascular disease (primary prevention) with minimum follow-up of one year were considered. Patients having known genetic or congenital heart defects, other sources of inflammation, aggressive periodontitis, or were pregnant and/or lactating were excluded. Subgingival scaling and root planning (SRP) with or without combination of systemic antibiotics with or without active remedies were compared with supragingival scaling, mouth rinse, or no periodontal treatment. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Data extraction was performed by two independent reviewers in duplicate. A formal, customised pilot-based data extraction form was used to capture data. Overall risk of bias for each study was categorised as low, medium, and high. For trials having missing data or unclear data, clarification from the authors were sought by mail. Testing for heterogeneity was planned by I2 test. For dichotomous data, fixed-effect model (Mantel-Haenszel) was used; and for continuous data, mean difference and 95% confidence intervals were used as measures of treatment effect. For time-to-event data, Peto or inverse variance method was used. Sensitivity and subgroup analysis was planned to test the stability of conclusion. RESULTS: Following initial electronic and hand search, 1690 articles were screened for title and abstract and 82 articles were considered for full-text eligibility. Finally, two studies out of the reported six articles were included in this review for qualitative synthesis of results, and no study was included in the quantitative analysis. Publication bias was determined using funnel plots which were further assessed using dichotomous and continuous outcome. For primary prevention of CVD in participants with periodontitis and metabolic syndrome, one study (165 participants) provided very low certainty evidence. Scaling and root planning plus amoxicillin and metronidazole could reduce incidence of all-cause death (Peto odds ratio [OR] 7.48, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.15 to 376.98), or all CVD-related death (Peto OR 7.48, 95% CI 0.15 to 376.98). The possibility that scaling and root planning plus amoxicillin and metronidazole could increase cardiovascular events (Peto OR 7.77, 95% CI 1.07 to 56.1) compared with supragingival scaling measured at 12-month follow-up was observed. For secondary prevention of CVD, one pilot study randomised 303 participants to receive scaling and root planning plus oral hygiene instruction or oral hygiene instruction plus a copy of radiographs and recommendation to follow-up with a dentist (community care). As cardiovascular events had been measured for different time periods between 6 and 25 months, and only 37 participants were available with at least one-year follow-up, the data was not sufficiently robust for inclusion in the review. The study did not evaluate all-cause death and all CVD-related death. Conclusions about the effects of periodontal therapy on secondary prevention of CVD were not drawn. CONCLUSIONS: There is very limited evidence assessing the impact of periodontal therapy on the prevention of cardiovascular disease, and it is insufficient to generate any implications for practice. Further trials are needed before reliable conclusions can be drawn.

Influence of periodontitis and diabetes on structure and cytokine content of platelet-rich fibrin.

BACKGROUND: Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) is a second-generation platelet concentrate with multiple applications in wound healing and regeneration in both periodontitis and diabetes. However, the three dimensional (3-D) structure and cytokine content of PRF might be altered in patients suffering from either/both of the chronic inflammatory conditions, ultimately influencing the efficacy of PRF as a biomaterial for regenerative medicine. AIM: The aim of the present study was hence to evaluate the effect of both these chronic inflammatory diseases on the 3-D structure of PRF membrane. An attempt was also made to compare the growth factor content between the plasma and RBC ends of the prepared PRF gel. MATERIALS & METHODS: L-PRF was prepared for twenty participants, healthy (5), periodontitis (5), T2DM (5) and T2DM with periodontitis (5). Porosity and fiber diameter of PRF membranes was visualized under FE-SEM and measured using ImageJ Software. PDGF-BB and TGF-ß1 levels in PRF gel were assessed by ELISA. RESULTS: The average diameter of fibrin fibers under FE-SEM was 0.15 to 0.30 micrometers. Porosity was higher at the plasma end (p = 0.042). Red blood cell (RBC) end of the membrane had thinner fibers arranged in a comparatively more dense and compact structure with smaller porosities. Healthy subjects had the least porous PRF compared to subjects with either/both of the chronic conditions. PDGF-BB levels were similar along all the four groups. TGF-ß1 levels were highest in healthy subjects. DISCUSSION: 3-D structure and growth factor content of PRF are influenced by a person's periodontal and/or diabetic status. The RBC end of the PRF membrane, as compared to the plasma end, has thinner fibers arranged in a comparatively more dense and compact structure with smaller porosities, and hence should be favored during periodontal regenerative procedures. CONCLUSION: Both periodontitis and diabetes have a significant influence on the 3-D structure and growth factor content of PRF produced.

Validation of a noninvasive aMMP-8 point-of-care diagnostic methodology in COVID-19 patients with periodontal disease.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to validate an active matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-8) point-of-care diagnostic tool in COVID-19 patients with periodontal disease. SUBJECTS, MATERIALS, AND METHODS: Seventy-two COVID-19-positive and 30 COVID-19-negative subjects were enrolled in the study. Demographic data were recorded, periodontal examination carried out, and chairside tests run for evaluating the expression of active MMP-8 (aMMP-8) in the site with maximum periodontal breakdown via gingival crevicular fluid sampling as well as via a mouth rinse-based kit for general disease activity. In COVID-19-positive patients, the kits were run again once the patients turned COVID-19 negative. RESULTS: The overall (n = 102) sensitivity/specificity of the mouthrinse-based kits to detect periodontal disease was 79.41%/36.76% and that of site-specific kits was 64.71%/55.88% while adjusting for age, gender, and smoking status increased the sensitivity and specificity (82.35%/76.47% and 73.53%/88.24, respectively). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis for the adjusted model revealed very good area under the ROC curve 0.746-0.869 (p < .001) and 0.740-0.872 (p < .001) (the aMMP-8 mouth rinse and site-specific kits, respectively). No statistically significant difference was observed in the distribution of results of aMMP-8 mouth rinse test (p = .302) and aMMP-8 site-specific test (p = .189) once the subjects recovered from COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the present study support the aMMP-8 point-of-care testing (PoCT) kits as screening tools for periodontitis in COVID-19 patients. The overall screening accuracy can be further increased by utilizing adjunctively risk factors of periodontitis. The reported noninvasive, user-friendly, and objective PoCT diagnostic methodology may provide a way of stratifying risk groups, deciding upon referrals, and in the institution of diligent oral hygiene regimens.

The clinical association between Periodontitis and COVID-19.

OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to clinically assess the association between periodontitis and COVID-19-related outcomes. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data pertaining to patient demographics, medical history, blood parameters, periodontal clinical examination and aMMP-8 point-of-care diagnostics (both site-level and patient-level) was recorded for eighty-two COVID-19-positive patients. COVID-19-related outcomes such as COVID-19 pneumonia, death/survival, types of hospital admission and need of assisted ventilation were also assessed. RESULTS: Males were predominantly afflicted with COVID-19, with advanced age exhibiting a greater association with the presence of periodontitis. Higher severity of periodontitis led to 7.45 odds of requiring assisted ventilation, 36.52 odds of hospital admission, 14.58 odds of being deceased and 4.42 odds of COVID-19-related pneumonia. The aMMP-8 mouthrinse kit was slightly more sensitive but less specific than aMMP-8 site-specific tests. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the findings of the present study, periodontitis seems to be related to poorer COVID-19-related outcomes. However, within the constraints of this work, a direct causality may not be established. Periodontitis, by means of skewing the systemic condition for a number of comorbidities, may eventually influence COVID-19 outcomes in an indirect manner. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The study is the first to clinically, and by means of a validated point-of-care diagnostic methodology, assess the association between periodontal health and COVID-19-related outcomes. Assessment of the periodontal status of individuals can aid in the identification of risk groups during the pandemic along with reinforcing the need to maintain oral hygiene and seeking periodontal care.

Is saltwater mouth rinse as effective as chlorhexidine following periodontal surgery?

Design Randomised prospective double-blind study.Case selection Thirty-seven chronic periodontitis patients were randomly prescribed either saltwater (n = 17) or chlorhexidine (n = 20) mouth rinse following open flap debridement. Gingival Index (GI), post-operative pain, mouth rinse satisfaction, matrix metalloproteinase activity and tasting were assessed at baseline, one week and 12 weeks.Data analysis Inter-group and intra-group comparisons were done for all the parameters recorded at different time intervals using Friedman, Wilcoxon signed-rank and Mann-Whitney U tests. P value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results There was a statistically significant decrease in GI from baseline to week 1/week 12 following surgery in both the groups. However, there was no significant difference between the groups at any time point.Conclusions Saltwater rinses are as efficient as 0.12% chlorhexidine in reducing inflammation following minimal invasive periodontal surgery. Being an inexpensive and easily accessible option, it might be considered the mouth rinse of choice during the early stages of wound healing.

Active matrix metalloproteinase-8 (aMMP-8) point-of-care test (POCT) in the COVID-19 pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: Active matrix metalloproteinase (aMMP)-8 utilized in point-of-care testing (POCT) is regarded as a potential biomarker for periodontal and peri-implant diseases. Various host and microbial factors eventually influence the expression, degranulation, levels and activation of aMMP-8. The type of oral fluids (saliva, mouthrinse, gingival crevicular, and peri-implant sulcular fluids [GCF/PISF], respectively) affect the analysis. AREAS COVERED: With this background, we aimed to review here the recent studies on practical, inexpensive, noninvasive and quantitative mouthrinse and GCF/PISF chair-side POCT lateral flow aMMP-8 immunoassays (PerioSafe and ImplantSafe/ORALyzer) and how they help to detect, predict, monitor the course, treatment and prevention of periodontitis and peri-implantitis. The correlations of aMMP-8 POCT to other independent and catalytic activity assays of MMP-8 are also addressed. EXPERT OPINION: The mouthrinse aMMP-8 POCT can also detect prediabetes/diabetes and tissue destructive oral side-effects due to the head and neck cancers' radiotherapy. Chlorhexidine and doxycycline can inhibit collagenolytic human neutrophil and GCF aMMP-8. Furthermore, by a set of case-series we demonstrate the potential of mouthrinse aMMP-8 POCT to real-time/online detect periodontitis as a potential risk disease for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The clinical interdisciplinary utilization of aMMP-8 POCT requires additional oral, medical, and interdisciplinary studies.