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The Use of a Rapid Enzymatic Assay in the Field for the Detection of Infections Associated with Adult Periodontitis
Author(s) -
Bretz Walter A.,
Eklund Stephen A.,
Radicchi Ronald,
Schork Michael A.,
Schork Nicholas,
Schottenfeld David,
Lopatin Dennis E.,
Loesche Walter J.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of public health dentistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.64
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1752-7325
pISSN - 0022-4006
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-7325.1993.tb02710.x
Subject(s) - periodontitis , medicine , dentistry , polyclonal antibodies , dental plaque , gingival and periodontal pocket , microbiology and biotechnology , antibody , immunology , biology
There are few objective assays for studies of the epidemiology of periodontal diseases. The PerioScan™ is an assay capable of detecting three periodontal pathogens, namely T. denticola, P. gingivalis, and B. forsythus, which have been associated with adult periodontitis. The PerioScan™ was tested in a sample of 301 Brazilians. Clinical indices—bleeding, probing depth, gingival index, and periodontal index—were recorded from four sites in each subject. Subgingival plaque samples were collected from those sites and placed on the PerioScan™ card. Color results were scored in the field after 15 minutes. The plaque samples were screened with polyclonal antibodies for the three species by an ELISA system. The PerioScan™, when compared with the ELISA system, yields a sensitivity of 91 percent, specificity of 89 percent, and an accuracy of 90 percent. When the PerioScan™ was compared to clinical indices, there was a high sensitivity (at least 93%) and a low specificity (no less than 47%), with an accuracy of at least 61 percent.