Effect of periodontal treatment on metabolic control, systemic inflammation and cytokines in patients with type 2 diabetes

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of periodontal therapy on the circulating concentration of high-sensitivity capsule-reactive protein (hs-CRP), fibrinogen (FIB), interleukin (IL)-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and tumour necrosis factor- α (TNF- α ) and on the metabolic control in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients.
Material and Methods: Twenty-three T2DM patients with chronic periodontitis were enrolled in this study. Periodontal clinical parameters, namely visible plaque index, gingival bleeding index, bleeding on probing, probing depth and clinical attachment levels, were evaluated. Blood samples for plasma were collected and assessed for the levels of hs-CRP, FIB, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and TNF- α . The glycated haemoglobin (HbA_1c) and fasting plasma glucose were also measured. All parameters were evaluated before and 3 months after non-surgical periodontal therapy.
Results: All clinical parameters were significantly improved 3 months after the periodontal therapy. A univariate comparison showed a tendency towards a decrease of the measured biomarkers, most pronounced for TNF- α and FIB, after therapy. Periodontal treatment also reduced HbA_1c and hs-CRP levels, albeit not significantly.
Conclusions: The clinically successful non-surgical periodontal therapy tended to reduce systemic inflammation and the concentration of some circulating cytokines.