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Updated: Jun 16, 2025
Robust Ligature-Induced Model of Murine Periodontitis for the Evaluation of Oral Neutrophils
Published on: January 21, 2020
Utilizing Oral Neutrophil Counts as an Indicator of Oral Inflammation Associated With Periodontal Disease: A Blinded
Omnia Elebyary1,2, Chunxiang Sun1, Elis Angela Batistella1
1Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Background:
Periodontal diseases are chronic inflammatory conditions that require early screening for effective long-term management. Oral neutrophil counts (ONCs) correlate with periodontal inflammation. This study investigates a point-of-care test using a neutrophil enzyme activity (NEA) colorimetric strip for measuring periodontal inflammation.
Methods:
This prospective study had two phases. Phase 1 validated the relationship between ONCs and periodontal inflammation with 90 participants. Phase 2 examined the test's applicability in a real-world setting through a multicentre clinical trial with 375 participants at four sites. ONCs were quantified in oral rinses using laboratory-based methods, and the NEA strip was used for ONC stratification. Clinical measures included bleeding on probing (BoP), probing depth (PD) and clinical attachment loss (CAL).
Results:
ONCs were significantly elevated in patients with Grade B periodontitis and deep periodontal pockets (PD ≥ 5 mm, CAL ≥ 5 mm). The NEA strip accurately classified patients into high or low ONC categories, showing 80% sensitivity, 82.5% specificity and an AUC of 0.89. It also assessed the effectiveness of periodontal therapy in reducing ONC and inflammation. The test was user-friendly, with no reported discomfort among patients.
Conclusion:
The NEA strip is a user-friendly and rapid screening tool for detecting high ONCs associated with periodontal inflammation and for evaluating the effectiveness of periodontal therapy.
