Value of Salivary Biomarkers in Diagnosis of Periodontal Disease: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Objectives: The aim of this systematic review with meta-analysis is to evaluate the diagnostic value of salivary biomarkers in the diagnosis of periodontal disease, compared with the gold standard of periodontal clinical examination.
Methods: Human diagnostic studies that assessed host-derived salivary biomarkers for diagnosis of periodontal disesase, compared with the gold standard (clinical periodontal examination), without age, data or language restrictions, were eligible for inclusion. A detailed individual search strategy for each of the following bibliographic databases was developed: LILACS, PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus and Web of Science. A partial grey literature search was undertaken using Google Scholar, and the references cited in eligible articles were also crosschecked. The studies were selected in 2 steps. The methodology of selected studies was evaluated using the revised Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2).
Results: Eleven articles were identified and subjected to qualitative analysis, and 10 studies remained for quantitative analysis. Only 4 studies, 3 using single biomarkers and 1 tested combined biomarkers, reported excellent diagnostic accuracy values.
Conclusions: MIP-1a, NO, cysteine and the panel of IL-6, IL-1b e MMP-8 provided sufficiently satisfactory diagnostic accuracy that enables application as a diagnostic method for identifying or excluding the presence of chronic periodontitis.