Comparison of Whole Salivary Lactate Dehydrogenase Level in Patients With and Without Periodontal Disease

Background: Tracking various biomarkers in serum, gingival crevicular fluid (GCF), and saliva has been introduced as a diagnostic tool for periodontal disease detection. Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare salivary lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels in subjects with periodontal disease and levels in subjects without periodontal disease. Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, 170 patients at Hamadan faculty of Dentistry, including patients with periodontal disease and patients with normal periodontium, were selected and divided into test and control groups. Unstimulated saliva was collected in the same situation from the test and control groups. Each saliva sample was analyzed to measure salivary LDH level on the day of collection, by using commercially available kits according to the manufacturers’ instructions. A statistical T-test was employed to evaluate significant differences among groups. Results: The mean LDH levels in the test and control groups were 1071.67 ± 731.004 and 550.91 ± 217.215, respectively. As the level of statistical significance was set at P < 0.05, data analysis showed a significant difference between the LDH enzymatic level in the test and control groups (P = 0.000). Comparison of the LDH enzymatic level in subjects with different genders in the test and control groups showed no significant differences (P = 0.340). Conclusions: Salivary LDH levels can be used as marker of periodontal disease for screening periodontitis in large populations.