Salivary Interleukin-6 Levels in Patients with Periodontitis Stage IV

Objective: The role of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease and tissue destruction at the periodontal site has been widely reported. This study aimed to evaluate the salivary IL-6 levels in patients with stage IV periodontitis. Materials and Methods: The study included 28 patients who were diagnosed with periodontitis stage IV and the control group of 22 periodontally healthy patients. All the patients were systemically healthy. Saliva samples were collected, and clinical periodontal measurements, including probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), papilla bleeding index (PBI), the percentage of sites with bleeding on probing (BOP) %, plaque index (PI) and calculus index (CI), were recorded. The unstimulated saliva of each patient was collected by a saliva collector, and all samples were analysed using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method for the detection of IL-6. Results: The mean value of salivary IL-6 in patients with periodontitis stage IV was 22.18 +/- 5.96 pg/mL. In the control group, the average measured value of IL-6 was 2.23 +/- 2.17 pg/mL. The periodontitis group had a significantly higher salivary IL-6 levels than the control group. A strong positive correlation was observed between the salivary IL-6 and clinical periodontal parameters (PD, CAL, PBI, BOP %, PI and CI) in patients with periodontitis stage IV (p<0.0001). Conclusion: We demonstrated a statistically significant relationship between periodontal parameters and salivary IL-6 in patients with periodontitis stage IV. New studies are needed to accurately establish salivary IL-6 potential as a biomarker for periodontal disease monitoring, including all stages and grades of periodontitis.