Investigation of a Novel Predictive Biomarker Profile for the Outcome of Periodontal Treatment

Background: An ability to predict the response to conventional non‐surgical treatment of a periodontal site would be advantageous. However, biomarkers or tests devised to achieve this have lacked sensitivity. The aim of this study is to assess the ability of a novel combination of biomarkers to predict treatment outcome of patients with chronic periodontitis. Methods: Gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and subgingival plaque were collected from 77 patients at three representative sites, one healthy (probing depth [PD] ≤3 mm) and two diseased (PD ≥6 mm), at baseline and at 3 and 6 months after treatment. Patients received standard non‐surgical periodontal treatment at each time point as appropriate. The outcome measure was improvement in probing depth of ≥2 mm. Concentrations of active enzymes (matrix metalloproteinase [MMP]‐8, elastase, and sialidase) in GCF and subgingival plaque levels of Porphyromonas gingivalis , Tannerella forsythia , and Fusobacterium nucleatum were analyzed for prediction of the outcome measure. Results: Using threshold values of MMP‐8 (94 ng/μL), elastase (33 ng/μL), sialidase (23 ng/μL), and levels of P. gingivalis (0.23%) and T. forsythia (0.35%), receiver operating characteristic curves analysis demonstrated that these biomarkers at baseline could differentiate healthy from diseased sites (sensitivity and specificity ≥77%). Furthermore, logistic regression showed that this combination of these biomarkers at baseline provided accurate predictions of treatment outcome (≥92%). Conclusion: The “fingerprint” of GCF enzymes and bacteria described here offers a way to predict the outcome of non‐surgical periodontal treatment on a site‐specific basis.