Local Immune Responses to Periodontopathic Bacteria

II. Effect of Periodontal Treatments on Serum IgG . -Antibody Titers against Periodontopathic Bacteria

Abstract

Serum IgG antibody titers to seven Periodontopathic bacteria were measured before and after successful treatment in order to evaluate whether changes in serum antibody titers rellect the effectiveness of periodontal treatment. Twenty patients (10 males and 10 females, from 23 to 61 years old) with adult, rapidly progressive periodontitis were enrolled in this study. All patients received initial preparation and most also underwent flap surgery. After treatment, probing pocket depths decreased from 3.72 mm to 1.56 mm, on avarage. Serum samples were collected from patients at the initial and final examinations.
Serum IgG antibody titers against sonicated antigens of P. gingivalis # 381, P. intermedia ATCC 25611, P. loescheii ATCC 15930, F. nucleatum ACTT 25586, A. actinomycetemcomitans Y 4, E. corrodens FDC 1073 and Capnocytophaga ochracea # M 12 were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The mean antibody titers to P. gingivalis and P. intermedia decreased significantly after the treatment as compared to their pretreatment levels. Especially, the antibody titer to P. gingivalis decreased in all of the patients examined. A significant relationship was found between a decreased antibody titer to P. gingivalis and the number of teeth operated on as well as treatment length, and the relationship between a decreased antibody titer to P. intermedia and the number of extracted teeth was also significant. These results suggest that a decreased serum antibody titer to P. gingivalis can indicate the effectiveness of periodontal treatment.