Purpose: To investigate the effect of metformin combined with DPP-4 inhibitor on alveolar bone density in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic periodontitis.
Methods: A total of 80 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic periodontitis were selected and randomly divided into group A and group B by random number table, with 40 patients in each group. Group A (medication alone group): oral metformin and basic periodontal treatment; Group B (combination group): DPP-4 inhibitor (sitagliptin) was taken orally in addition to group A. Before treatment (T0) and 3 months (T1) and 6 months (T2) after treatment, alveolar bone mineral density (BDM), periodontal probing depth (PD), clinical attachment loss(CAL), probing bleeding (BOP), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c),serum phosphorus, serum calcium, adiponectin (ADP), leptin (LEP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (HS-CRP), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) were detected. SPSS 23.0 software package was used for data analysis.
Results: Three and 6 months after treatment, PD, CAL, BOP and HbAlc in group B were significantly lower than those in group A(P＜0.05). BDM in group B was significantly higher than that in group A (P＜0.05). Compared with group A, the levels of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, Hs-CRP, TNF-α) and leptin in group B were significantly decreased, while the level of adiponectin was significantly increased (P＜0.05).
Conclusions: Metformin combined with DPP-4 inhibitor can increase alveolar bone density in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic periodontitis, effectively improve periodontal clinical and serum biochemical indicators, and reduce periodontal inflammation.