This cross-sectional study compares the effectiveness of an active MMP-8 (aMMP-8) point-of-care (PoC)/chairside mouthrinse test to the conventional bleeding on probing (BOP) (cutoff 20%) test in detecting subclinical periodontitis/pre-periodontitis in Finnish adolescents. The study was carried out at the Kotka Health Center, Finland. A total of 47 adolescents (30 boys/17 girls) aged 15⁻17 were first tested with the aMMP-8 PoC test, followed by a full-mouth evaluation of clinical parameters of oral health including periodontal, oral mucosal, and caries assessment. A periodontist performed these clinical examinations. The aMMP-8 PoC test result had much stronger association with subclinical periodontitis than the BOP 20% test (2.8⁻5.3 times stronger in terms of odds ratio). The aMMP-8 PoC test had ≥2 times higher sensitivity than the BOP 20% test with, generally, the same specificity. Further, the aMMP-8 PoC test had generally better accuracy and lower false negative percentages. The aMMP-8 PoC test seemed to be more effective than the conventional BOP test in detecting subclinical periodontitis/pre-periodontitis in adolescents reducing the risk of their undertreatment. However, the sample size may be a limiting factor, and more studies are needed to confirm our results for both adolescents and adults.
Keywords: adolescent; gingival bleeding on probing; matrix metalloproteinases; periodontitis; point-of-care testing.