Biomarkers in Periodontal Health and Disease (eBook)

This book examines all aspects of the progress being made towards the development of highly specific and sensitive biomarkers that will overcome the shortcomings of clinical assessments in periodontics. The opening chapters present the basic anatomic features of periodontal tissues, outline the nature and pathogenic mechanisms of periodontal diseases, and discuss both conventional and novel methods of diagnosis with reference to their specificity and sensitivity. The potential role of biomarkers in periodontal diagnosis is then presented in the light of the published data. The biological samples in which potential biomarkers are sought are evaluated comparatively, drawing attention to their strengths and weaknesses, and the available technologies for biomarker studies are reviewed. The potential benefits of biomarkers are also discussed with regard to the possible bidirectional interactions between periodontal diseases and systemic health. Finally, the past, present, and future of periodontics are examined from a broader perspective. Readers will find the book to be an ideal summary of the state of the art in the field as biomarkers emerge that promise to facilitate periodontal diagnostics and permit timely, personally tailored interventions.

Nurcan Buduneli is a Professor in the Department of Periodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, Ege University, İzmir, Turkey, where she has worked as a researcher for 25 years. After gaining her DDS in 1990 from Ege University, she went on to obtain her PhD from the Department of Periodontology at the same university in 1996. Dr. Buduneli has conducted collaborative international studies on a variety of topics, e.g., the etiology and mechanisms of the relationships between periodontal and other oral diseases and systemic conditions such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and complications of pregnancy; drug-induced gingival overgrowth; effects of smoking on periodontal health; and antibiotics in periodontal therapy. Since 2002, she has been giving regular undergraduate and postgraduate courses on subjects including the anatomy of periodontal tissues; drugs used in periodontal treatment; clinical evaluation, diagnosis, and prognosis of periodontal diseases; and pathogenesis of periodontal diseases. Dr. Buduneli is a Section Editor for Current Oral Health Reports, Associate Editor for Oral Diseases and editorial board member for various dental journals published in Turkish. She is the author of over 100 publications in refereed journals.