Diagnosis of Periodontal Diseases by Biomarkers

Many middle-aged and elderly people suffer from periodontal diseases that mainly cause tooth loss and result in some systemic diseases. The prevention of periodontal diseases is very important for oral and systemic health, but the present diagnostic examination is not fully objective or suitable. To diagnose periodontal diseases exactly, some biomarkers that represent inflammation, tissue degradation, and bone resorption in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and saliva are known. We demonstrated that the GCF levels of calprotectin, an inflammation-related protein, and carboxy-terminal propeptide of type I procollagen, a bone metabolism-related protein, were associated with the clinical condition of periodontal diseases, and suggested that these proteins might be useful biomarkers for periodontal diseases. Recently, determinations of genes and proteins by using microdevices have been studied for the diagnosis of some diseases. We detected calprotectin protein by chemiluminescent immunoassay on a microchip and showed the possibility of specific and quantitative detection of calprotectin in a very small amount of GCF. The determination of multiple markers in GCF by using microdevices will contribute to the development of accurate and objective diagnostic systems for periodontal diseases. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 179(1): 40–45, 2012; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.21150