Interleukin-1β level in peri-implant crevicular fluid and its correlation with the clinical and radiographic...

Assessing only the clinical and radiographic parameters for evaluation of dental implants may not be enough as they often reflect extensive inflammatory changes in the periodontal tissues. As peri-implant crevicular fluid (PICF) can give us a more prompt and objective measure of the disease activity, the purpose of this case series is to assess the peri-implant health status of single tooth dental implants not only clinically and radiographically but also biochemically.

Thirteen patients were subjected to dental implants at single edentulous sites using a conventional surgical approach. At baseline, 6 months, and 12 months after implant placement, the clinical and radiographic parameters were recorded. Additionally, IL-1β in PICF was estimated using the ELISA kit at 6(th) and 12(th) month.

The clinical and radiographic parameters differed significantly around the implants at different time intervals with IL-1β levels showing highly significant differences between 6 months (31.79 ± 12.26 pg/μl) and 12 months (113.09 ± 51.11 pg/μl). However, Spearman's correlation coefficient showed no correlation with the clinical and radiographic parameters.

Assessment of the various parameters confirmed that all the implants had a healthy peri-implant status. Although the levels of IL-1β in PICF were elevated at the 12(th) month, they were well within the healthy range as observed by previous studies. This indicates that IL-1β, a biochemical marker, can be used as an adjunct to clinical and radiographic parameters in the assessment of EARLY inflammatory changes around implants.