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OBJECTIVES: Patients with Crohn's disease (CD) are at increased risk of developing periodontal disease and may benefit from salivary biomarker-based monitoring for early detection and management. Given the previously reported reduced specificity of the salivary aMMP-8 test in CD, this study aimed to evaluate alternative salivary biomarkers for periodontal disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Stimulated saliva samples were collected from 35 patients with CD and 35 systemically healthy, matched controls, followed by a comprehensive periodontal examination. Salivary concentrations of total MMP-8 (tMMP-8), MMP-9, and PMN elastase were quantified using ELISA. RESULTS: In the control group, periodontal status significantly influenced the levels of all studied biomarkers, with significant differences observed in PMN elastase (p = 0. 012), MMP-9 (p = 0. 003), and tMMP-8 (p < 0. 001). In contrast, within the CD group, only MMP-9 levels showed significant variation across periodontal categories (p = 0. 011). Intergroup comparisons revealed that among periodontally healthy individuals, those with CD had significantly higher salivary PMN elastase (p = 0. 039) and MMP-9 (p = 0. 005) concentrations than controls. Furthermore, CD patients with gingivitis exhibited significantly higher tMMP-8 levels (p = 0. 035) compared to the control group. However, no significant differences were observed between the CD and control groups among patients with periodontitis for any of the biomarkers (p ≥ 0. 246). CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic accuracy of salivary tMMP-8 and PMN elastase was reduced in CD patients, likely reflecting altered neutrophil degranulation dynamics. Salivary MMP-9 may serve as a promising biomarker linking oral and intestinal inflammatory activity.
Toivanen et al. (Mon,) studied this question.