Peri-Implantitis Diagnosis and Prognosis Using Biomarkers in Peri-Implant Crevicular Fluid: A Narrative Review

Dental implant diseases, peri-implantitis (PI) and peri-implant mucositis (PIM), have shown wide prevalence in recent studies. Despite the prevalence, diagnosing peri-implant disease (PID) remains challenging as common diagnostic methods of periodontal probing and radiographs may be inaccurate. These methods only document pre-existing destruction rather than current disease activity. Furthermore, there is no current model to predict the progression of PID. Though a predictive model is lacking, biomarkers may offer some potential. Biomarkers are commonly used in medicine to objectively determine disease state, or responses to a therapeutic intervention. Gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) biomarkers have moderate diagnostic validity in periodontitis. Biomarkers in peri-implant crevicular fluid (PICF) also show promising results in regard to their diagnostic and prognostic value. The aim of this review is to summarize the current knowledge of PICF biomarkers in the diagnosis of PID and evaluate their validity to predict disease progression. This review found that PICF studies utilize different methods of sampling and interpretation with varying validity (sensitivity and specificity). A number of promising diagnostic techniques were identified. Commercially available chair-side tests for MMP-8 to diagnose periodontal disease and PID activity are now available. Future directions include proteomics and metabolomics for accurate, site-specific diagnosis and prediction of PID progression. Although more research is needed, this review concludes that the assessment of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, TNFα, MMP-8) in the PICF may be of value to diagnose PI and PIM but current research remains insufficient to indicate whether biomarkers predict peri-implant disease progression.