The effect of nonsurgical periodontal therapy on pentraxin 3 levels in smokers and nonsmokers with chronic periodontitis

The purpose of this study was to determine the pentraxin 3 (PTX3) levels in the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and saliva of smokers and nonsmokers with chronic periodontitis and to compare these levels before and after initial nonsurgical periodontal therapy. Forty subjects were divided into 2 groups with chronic periodontitis (smokers and nonsmokers) and 2 clinically healthy groups (smokers and nonsmokers). At baseline, clinical periodontal parameters, including plaque index, gingival index, probing depth, and clinical attachment levels, were assessed. Saliva and GCF samples were procured to quantify the PTX3 levels. All subjects with periodontitis, smokers and nonsmokers, received scaling and root planing. The 2 treated groups were examined 2 weeks after therapy, and any changes in the clinical parameters or PTX3 levels were recorded. At baseline, PTX3 levels in both groups of patients with chronic periodontitis were found to be significantly higher (smokers had the highest level, followed by nonsmokers) than levels in both groups of clinically healthy subjects (nonsmokers, followed by smokers) (P < 0.05). Five patients with chronic periodontitis (3 smokers and 2 nonsmokers) were lost to follow-up and therefore excluded from the statistical analysis. Scaling and root planing led to an improvement in the clinical parameters and a statistically significant reduction of PTX3 levels (P < 0.05) in both chronic periodontitis groups at the 2-week follow-up, but the changes were greater in the smokers than in the nonsmokers. In the present study, smoking was found to play a contributory role in the alteration of PTX3 levels in GCF and saliva in patients with chronic periodontitis. The role of PTX3 as a prognostic tool for resolution of periodontal inflammation still remains obscure.