Background: Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease which is initiated by an infection of the oral microorganisms and it involves the humoral and cellular characteristics of the host response. The periodontal disease is found to develop due to a series of interactions among the periodontotrophic herpes viruses, the periodontopathic bacteria and the host immune reactions.Recent studies have demonstrated that various human viruses, especially human cytomegalovirus seems to play a part in the pathogenesis of periodontitis. Periodontitis is an infectious disease involving specific bacteria and viruses.
Objectives: The present study was initiated to evaluate the percentage of human cytomegalovirus in periodontitis patients and determine the correlation between levels of human cytomegalovirus IgG and each of plaque index, gingival index and oral hygiene.
Subjects and Methods: Thirty five periodontitis patients and eighteen healthy control subjects were included in this study. Saliva samples were taken from all subjects (patients and healthy). Salivary IgG agianst human cytomegalovirus was estimated by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.
Results: The current study showed that the frequency of human cytomegalovirus in chronic periodontitis patients was significantly higher than in healthy control group p<0.05. On the other hand the current study failed to observe any significant correlation between salivary IgG and each of plaque index and gingival index, whereas higher significant correlation was observed with oral hygiene, (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Findings of the present study suggest that the frequent present of human cytomegalovirus in saliva of chronic periodontitis patients could have a crucial role in development of this disease.