During a typical dental exam, it’s routine for your dentist to check for the early signs of periodontal disease, such as gums that are red, tender, swollen or that bleed easily. The goal is to detect gingivitis and treat it before it progresses and causes harm to your gums and teeth.
But what if your dentist had a way to screen for a biomarker associated with periodontal disease much earlier – even before symptoms are visible?
Today, this is possible thanks to saliva screenings.
What is a Saliva Screening Used For?
The saliva screening test, which takes 30 seconds to administer, looks for the presence of aMMP-8, short for activated matrix metalloproteinase 8. aMMP-8 is an enzyme that breaks down collagen, a protein in your mouth.
The results of the screening provide your dentist with a numerical read out based on the amount of aMMP-8 in your mouth. The higher the amount of aMMP-8, the more likely the presence of periodontal disease. That number is an “oral fitness score” that enables you and your dentist to determine an appropriate plan of action that may include treating periodontal disease, according to Dentognostics, a German biotech company that developed an aMMP-8 test being rolled out at some Smile Generation®-trusted offices.
Having a measurable insight into the health of our mouths can motivate people to take action— such as adopting better oral hygiene practices and complying with their dentist’s prescribed treatment.
“A study we did in the Netherlands showed that if people are screened, they immediately change their behavior in taking care of their teeth and gums,” said Dirk-Rolf Geiselmann, CEO of Dentognostics. “They do not want to run around with the inflammation. They want to do something about it. We found out that people get more healthy if they are getting screened.”
Saliva Screenings in Dentistry
The screening also has the potential to be useful in evaluating and improving the health of your mouth if you have dental implants. This can reduce the risk of peri-implantitis, an inflammatory condition that affects the soft and hard gum tissues around dental implants.
“If you can measure collagen breakdown in your mouth in real time, nobody would need to lose their teeth,” Geiselmann said.
“Because if you measure it, you can do something about it.”
Find your trusted, local dentist today!
