ABSTRACT:
Aim and Background: Periodontal disease is a chronic inflammatory disease in which periodontal tissues are destroyed by infection with Gram-negative anaerobic bacterias which cause elevation of inflammatory markers like C-reactive protein, Tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-6, which inturn increase the production of reactive oxygen Species (ROS), which leads to oxidative stress and further progression of disease. Evaluation of oxidative stress helps to assess the disease progression. Among many oxidative stress parameters, simple and cost effective parameter is Gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT). Usually, it is biomarker of liver disease. Many studies show, it predicts the oxidative stress. So, aim of the current study is to assess the level of GGT in chronic periodontitis patients. Method and Materials: 50 subjects were divided into 2 groups of healthy (25 individuals) and chronic periodontitis (25 individuals) from dental out patient department of Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals. Serum samples were collected and analysed for GGT. Statistical analysis was performed using Student T Test. P < 0.05 was considered to be significant. Result: GGT levels were found to be significantly higher in chronic periodontitis patients compare to healthy individuals. (p<0.0001). Conclusion: GGT can be used as a simple, cost effective and precise marker for measuring oxidative stress in chronic periodontitis.