Estimation and comparison of salivary calcium levels in healthy controls and patients with generalized gingivitis and chronic periodontitis

Aim: To evaluate salivary calcium levels in healthy subjects and patients with chronic gingivitis and Chronic Periodontitis. Materials and Methods: One fifty subjects in the age range between 20 – 45 years were randomly selected and subjected to periodontal examination using gingival index, plaque index, oral Hygiene Index and clinical attachment loss. Following periodontal examination, subjects were divided in three groups of 50 patients each: Group A: healthy subjects, Group B: gingivitis patients, Group C: periodontitis patients. Saliva samples from the study subjects was collected and subjected to estimation of salivary calcium levels. The obtained results were subjected to statistical analysis. The significance of difference in means was tested by ANOVA test. Results: The levels of salivary calcium increased as the disease progressed from healthy to gingivitis and periodontitis. There was statistically significant difference observed between healthy to gingivitis group and gingivitis to periodontitis group. Conclusion: Salivary calcium levels can be used as a biomarker to assess the periodontal disease progression. Early diagnosis of periodontal disease by estimation of calcium levels in saliva can help in prevention of gingivitis or periodontitis by various therapeutic measures