The effects of periodontal therapy on serum antibody (IgG) levels to plaque microorganisms*

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Abstract
The influence of periodontal therapy on serum antibody titers to selected periodontal disease-associated microorganisms was assessed in 23 patients having chronic inflammatory periodontal disease (CIPD). The immunoglobulin G (IgG) titers were determined by the microELISA technique in serum samples obtained prior to treatments; following a hygienic phase which included scaling, root planning, and oral hygiene instruction; following surgical treatment; and one year and two years following hygienic phase (maintenance phase). Considerable individual variability existed in the magnitude of immune response to specific bacterial preparations, Significant reduction in the mean antibody titers were seen to Actinomas viscosus, Streptacoccus sanguis, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Selenomonas sputigena, Bacteroides gingivalis, Bacteroides intermedius, Bacteroides melaninogenicus, Treponema vincentii, and Treponema denticola by the end of the second year of maintenance. There was no consistent response to Capnocytophaga. When individual patient responses were examined, 6 of the 23 were found to have elevated titers to at least one of the microorganisms in the interval between pretreatment and the end of the hygienic phase; however, in all but one case, the titers at the end of the second year of maintenance were below pretreatment levels. Antibody levels to bacteria such as Streptacoccus sanguis were modified during therapy. This would indicate that immune responses to microbes not generally considered to be "periodontal pathogens" may be modified by adjuvant activity associated with subgingival plaque or changes in the environment of the sulcus and that subsequent changes in titer do not necessarily reflect a role of that microorganism in the disease process.