Background and Objective Wnt signaling pathways regulate osteoblast differentiation and bone formation and are associated with inflammatory responses driven by innate and adaptive immunity via the NF‐κB pathway. The aim of this study was to compare the levels of sclerostin (SOST), WNT‐5a, and TNF‐α between chronic periodontitis and periodontally healthy sites and determine their value as diagnostic markers of chronic periodontitis. Material and Methods In a cross‐sectional assessment 25 chronic periodontitis cases and 25 periodontally healthy controls were selected upon clinical and radiographic periodontal evaluation. Gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) was collected cross‐sectionally from diseased and healthy sites in periodontitis patients and from healthy sites in each control subject. In a subgroup analysis, ten patients with generalized moderate and severe chronic periodontitis and ten generalized periodontally healthy individuals were included. The protein levels of SOST, WNT‐5a, and TNF‐α in GCF were measured by sandwich ELISA. The Shapiro‐Wilk test was utilized to assess the normality of the distribution and non‐parametric comparisons were performed. Results The protein levels of SOST were significantly higher in the generalized moderate and severe chronic periodontitis subgroup when compared to the generalized healthy (P = 0.002), while the WNT‐5a and TNF‐α GCF total amounts were similar (P > 0.05). Diseased sites in the periodontitis patients exhibited significantly higher total protein levels of WNT‐5a than in healthy sites (P = 0.017), whereas no differences were detected for SOST and TNF‐α (P > 0.05). The total protein levels of SOST, WNT‐5a, and TNF‐α in GCF were similar in periodontitis and non‐periodontitis patients (P > 0.05). Conclusions Sclerostin and WNT‐5a gingival protein levels demonstrated a high diagnostic value for generalized moderate and severe chronic periodontitis, while a low accuracy was detected for localized chronic periodontitis.

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Objective To assess the prevalence of symptoms of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) and parafunctional habits as well as to investigate their association with age, gender, and number of missing teeth. Methods This retrospective study is based on 4204 randomly selected patients who were examined to determine their symptoms of TMD, such as clicking, difficulty chewing, difficulty opening/closing, as well self-reported joint pain and parafunctional habits. Results Clenching/grinding was reported by 26.5% of the examined population, clicking by 14.8%, and difficulty chewing and closing by 3.6%. Significant associations between the number of missing teeth with clenching/grinding (p = 0.05) and difficulty chewing (p < 0.001) were detected. Age and gender showed significant effects on the examined parameters (p < 0.05). Discussion Understanding the TMD subjective symptoms in relation to age, gender, and tooth loss would be of great value for treatment planning and could provide other perspectives to establish preventive measures.

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