Changes in Salivary Melatonin Levels by Scaling and Root Planing in Patients with Chronic Periodontitis

Abstract

Background: Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease that causes tissue destruction due to the imbalance in the oxidant-antioxidant system. Melatonin has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immune-modulatory properties and is considered to be a biomarker and diagnostic/therapeutic agent in the pathogenesis of periodontitis. Objectives: The present study aimed to evaluate the salivary melatonin level and its changes following non-surgical periodontal therapy in patients with periodontitis. Methods: In total, 90 salivary samples were collected from 60 patients, including 30 from patients with moderate chronic periodontitis (before periodontal treatment), and 30 from the same patients one month after the non-surgical periodontal therapy, and 30 from periodontally healthy subjects (control). Salivary melatonin levels were measured using the competitive immunoassay of the human melatonin ELISA kit. Results: The highest melatonin concentration was observed in the control group (79.55 ± 59.22; P < 0.05), while the lowest concentration was observed in the pre-treatment group (P < 0.05). In addition, salivary melatonin concentration in the post-treatment group (56.58 ± 46.48) was significantly higher compared to the pre-treatment group (17.25 ± 5.79; P < 0.05). Conclusions: According to the results, salivary melatonin levels improved after non-surgical periodontal therapy, which suggests the involvement of melatonin in the pathogenesis of periodontitis. However, the exact role of melatonin requires further investigation.

The Emerging Role of Salivary Oxidative Stress Biomarkers as Prognostic Markers of Periodontitis: New Insights for a Personalized Approach in Dentistry

“…Moreover, the reason why the melatonin level was lower in the smoking group is related to the fact that tobacco is an exogenous factor of ROS increasing [ 118 ]. According to Balaji, Purrahmani et al [ 119 ] compared the salivary level of melatonin in patients with and without periodontitis before and after the periodontal treatment. At the baseline, the melatonin level was low in patients with periodontitis compared to the healthy group.…”

“…After the non-surgical treatment, the melatonin level increased in patients affected by periodontitis. Therefore, Purrahmani [ 119 ] reported that salivary melatonin level possesses good sensitivity (80%) and specificity (80%) to evaluate the response of the periodontal treatment.…”