Evaluation of the correlation between dental caries and periodontitis - A clinico- immunological analysis

BACKGROUND: To study the correlation between dental caries and periodontitis. AIM: The aim of the study was to evaluate the correlation between dental caries and periodontitis based on the clinical and immunological analysis. The null hypothesis was that there is no clinical and immunological correlation between dental caries and periodontitis. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Fifty systemically healthy adults (mean age of 35 years) with decayed, missing, and filled teeth scores of more than 6 were assessed for periodontal health by recording their probing depth (PD) and bleeding on probing (BOP) values. Unstimulated whole saliva was collected, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis was conducted for determining the immunoglobulin A (IgA) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels. The obtained clinical and immunological values were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: The results of the clinical examination revealed low PD and BOP scores, whereas the ELISA analysis showed significantly higher salivary IgA levels as compared to salivary IgG. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the observations of this clinicoimmunological study, it was concluded that no correlation existed between dental caries and periodontal disease.