Periodontal disease, periodontal treatment and systemic nitric oxide in dogs

Thirty-two client-owned dogs treated for periodontal disease were divided in group 1 if no periodontitis, group 2 if ≤25%, and group 3 if >25% of the teeth present were affected with periodontitis. Blood was tested before and 2 weeks after periodontal therapy for nitrosyl hemoglobin (HbNO), plasma nitrite/nitrate (NOx) and 3-nitrotyrosine (NT) levels. No HbNO was detected in any of the animals tested. There was no significant difference in the NOx plasma levels within each group or across the groups before and after the treatment, but a noticeable increase in NOx plasma levels was observed in group 3 after the treatment. Plasma NT was detected in only one third of the animals. NO levels varied greatly across individual dogs. The data are suggestive of an overall increase in systemic NO response 2 weeks after periodontal treatment in dogs with advanced periodontal disease, but the response is greatly individually-dependent.