Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of non-surgical periodontal therapy on the fibrinogen levels in chronic periodontitis patients when compared to the levels seen in healthy subjects.
Materials and methods: A total of 30 subjects, with an average age of 38 ± 25 years, were enrolled in the present study. They were divided into two groups, namely Group 1 (15 periodontally healthy subjects) and Group 2 (15 moderate to severe chronic periodontitis patients). The periodontal condition of each periodontitis patient was assessed by recording the probing pocket depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), plaque index (PI), and bleeding index (BI) both before and after periodontal therapy had been administered for one month. Additionally, blood samples were collected from the healthy subjects and the periodontitis patients before and after the periodontal treatment in order to assay the plasma fibrinogen levels.
Results: The clinical parameters were found to be improved after one month of periodontal therapy, with the statistical difference in the mean values of the BI and PD being highly significant (P < 0.01), while the statistical differences concerning the PI and CAL were significant (P < 0.05). The fibrinogen levels (mg/dL) for the periodontitis patients before and after treatment were 342.26 ± 69.00 and 352.93 ± 64.3 mg/dL, respectively. The level was 269.85 ± 43.68 mg/dL for the healthy subjects. In terms of the between-group comparison, the fibrinogen levels of the healthy subjects were observed to be highly significantly lower than the levels of the periodontitis patients before and after the treatment (P < 0.01), in contrast the statistical analysis showed a non-significant difference in the fibrinogen levels (P > 0.05) before and after the periodontal treatment. In addition, the statistical analysis revealed non-significant correlation between the fibrinogen levels and all the periodontal parameters (P > 0.05).
Conclusion: The non-surgical periodontal therapy proved to be effective in improving the clinical periodontal condition of the periodontitis patients, while the plasma fibrinogen levels were not found to be influenced by the periodontal therapy. Further studies are needed to evaluate the fibrinogen levels over a longer duration after periodontal treatment in patients following a periodontal maintenance program.
Keywords: Chronic periodontitis; Fibrinogen; Periodontal therapy.