Journal of Dental Medicine

Statement of Problem: The correlation between the activity of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) enzymes in gingival sulcular fluid (GCF) with inflammation and periodontal attachment loss has been proved, however there are not adequate studies about dental implants.

Purpose: The aim of present study was to investigate the presence and activity level of AST & ALP and their correlation with pocket depth (PD) and bleeding of peri-implant slcular fluid (PISF), and to evaluate the possibility of using these assessments as a diagnostic index in oral implantology.

Material and Methods: In this study, 41 implants as test group and 41 contralateral teeth as control group, in 21 patients were evaluated. At first visit, the general information about implants and the values of pocket probing depth (PPD), modified sulcus bleeding index (mSBl) and modified plaque index (mPI) were recorded. At the second visit, samples of GCF/PISF were collected. AST & ALP activity was determined spectrophotometrically and data were analyzed by "t", "Mann-Whitney" tests and Pearson Spearman correlation coefficient.
Results: The results showed that there was a significant difference in the activity of AST between two study groups (P<0.0001). The average activity of ALP in test group was more than control group but the difference was not significant. After elimination of the confounding variables, the average AST in test group was 54.6 (S£=2.3) and in control groups was 44.8 (SE=2.3) (P=0.004). The average ALP in test group (SE=2.2) and in control (SE=2.2) were 36.6 and 35.4, respectively. Values of AST and ALP were positively correlated with other clinical parameters such as PD and mSBI which was significant in test group.
Conclusion: The present study suggests that PISF analysis could be considered as a proper diagnostic strategy in the evaluation of dental implant success.