Severity of gingival and periodontal disease was evaluated by counting the numbers of leukocytes in mouth-rinsing saline and measuring the salivary occult blood with urine test kits.
The results were as follows:
1. Salivary leukocytes counts were correlated with the degrees of periodontal inflammation, especially with Dunning's X-ray bone scores and the degrees of tooth mobility. There were more salivary leukocytes in adult patients with complaints of viscous saliva and bad taste than in adults without periodontal complaints or in children.
2. The levels of salivary occult blood were correlated with clinical gingival bleeding scores, but were not correlated with other clinical scores. Except for gingival bleeding scores, salivary occult blood levels showed greater correlation coefficient with gingival redness scores than with other clinical scores. Salivary occult blood levels had little correlation with salivary leukocytes counts.
3. Salivary occult blood levels and salivary leukocytes counts showed statistically significant decrease after scaling of salivary donors.
4. The measurement of salivary leukocytes counts by estimation of peroxidase activity in saliva, failed because of the lack of correlation between these parameters.
It was suggested that salivary leukocytes counts and occult blood levels were available for indices of periodontitis and gingivitis respectively.
