ABSTRACT
AIM: The aim of this study was to identify and quantify the various cytokines in human gingival crevicular fluid (GCF), and to investigate the changes in their levels during orthodontic tooth movement (OTM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A statistically significant no. of subjects (n = 10 and mean age = 15.6 years) were included in the study. A maxillary cuspid of each subject having one treatment for distal orthodontic tooth movement served as the experimental tooth, whereas the contralateral cuspids were used as controls. Gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) around the experimental and the two control teeth was collected from each subject immediately before activation, and at 1, 24, and 168 hours after the initiation of tooth movement. RESULT: ELISAs were used to determine cytokine levels. The concentrations of interleukin (IL)-1lß, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, epidermal growth factor, and ß2-microglobulin were significantly higher in the experimental group than in the controls at 24 hr after the experiment was initiated. All the cytokines remained at baseline levels throughout the experiment for the control groups. CONCLUSION: Since all cytokines in GCF play an important role in the bone remodelling processes in vivo, the present results indicate that the changes in cytokines in GCF are associated with OTM.