Checkerboard assessments of serum antibodies to oral micrabiota as surrogate markers of clinical periodontal status

Background: This study addresses whether checkerboard assessments of serum IgG antibodies to oral bacteria may serve as surrogate markers of clinical periodontal status in epidemiologic studies. Method: The analysis involved data from 205 subjects, 132 periodontitis pat ients and 73 periodontally-intact controls, from whom full-mouth clinical p eriodontal data and serum IgG titers against 19 periodontal bacterial speci es were available. Results: A logistic regression model involving titers against 6 species (Po rphyromonas gingivalis, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Eubacterium n odatum, Eikenella corrodens, Capnocytophaga ochracea and Actinomyces naeslu ndii genospecies 2) classified correctly 74.5% of the subjects examined, wi th 84% sensitivity, 57.5% specificity, 78% positive predictive value and 66 .7% negative predictive value. Conclusions: Checkerboard serology may be useful in providing surrogate mar kers for clinical periodontal status when such data are not readily availab le and, thus may serve as a valuable complement in the armamentarium of epi demiologic tools suited for the study of periodontal diseases.