20 January 2023

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Researchers create a rapid test to detect periodontal disease

Paola Omini

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The relationship between periodontal disease and a number of systemic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis is already well established. Researchers at the University of Birmingham are developing a rapid test to identify the presence of periodontal disease in hopes of improving the overall health of patients with these comorbidities.

The device is being developed by Professor Tim Albrecht of the university's School of Chemistry, along with Dr Melissa Grant of the university's School of Dentistry. It consists of a specialized probe and detector that allow measuring certain protein-based biomarkers that indicate both the presence and progression of periodontal disease. This panel of biomarkers was discovered and validated in a study published in July 2022 in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology.

"We believe that the device we are prototyping will be the first dental probe capable of identifying periodontal disease in this way," Albrecht said in a press release. "It will detect periodontitis quickly and easily in a variety of healthcare settings, opening up opportunities for follow-up and early intervention in patients with comorbid diseases, who would benefit most from rapid treatment of periodontitis."

"The ability to detect and profile disease biomarkers in real time will allow monitoring disease severity and, in particular, the transition between milder and more severe forms of gum disease," Grant said. This will benefit not only dental health, but also cost reduction and recruitment of patients whose lives can be saved by periodontal treatment in the long term."

The researchers have recently received funding from the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, and plan to develop a prototype of this device within a year. In the long term, they hope to develop a probe small enough to insert into the interdental spaces that will allow dentists and other healthcare professionals to collect saliva and gingival crevicular fluid and measure the progression of periodontal disease.

This article was originally published in Odontologia33.