Evaluation and association of periodontal status with levels of Porphyromonas gingivalis in chronic periodontitis with and without Type 2 diabetes mellitus following nonsurgical periodontal therapy using quantitative polymerase chain reaction: An interventional study

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to detect and correlate the levels of Porphyromonas gingivalis with clinical parameters after nonsurgical periodontal therapy (NSPT) in chronic periodontitis patients with or without Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) method. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty patients equally divided into three groups, i.e., periodontally healthy (Group I), chronic periodontitis (CP) (Group II), and CP with T2DM patients (Group III) were assessed through clinical parameters of probing pocket depth (PPD) and clinical attachment level (CAL) and were correlated for the presence of P. gingivalis in the respective groups. PPD, CAL, and saliva samples for microbiological evaluation were assessed at baseline, 1-, and 3-month post-NSPT. RESULTS: Significant reduction of PPD was found 1.26 ± 0.22 versus 0.43 ± 0.33 mm in Group I, 4.62 ± 0.78 versus 2.58 ± 0.60 mm in Group II, and 6.28 ± 1.52 versus 4.01 ± 1.38 mm in Group III post-NSPT at 3 months. Similarly, a notable reduction of CAL was exhibited in both Group II (5.28 ± 0.80 vs. 3.12 ± 0.77 mm) and Group III (7.14 ± 1.59 vs. 4.51 ± 1.38 mm) patients after NSPT at 3 months. A greater reduction of P. gingivalis concentrations was observed in both Group II and Group III at 3-month post-NSPT. CONCLUSION: The substantial improvement of clinical parameters was found to be in correlation with the load of P. gingivalis, which was reduced more in Group II than in Group III, emphasizing the applicability and sensitivity of Q-PCR method for its assessment.