INTRODUCTION
As a result of clinical translational research, biomarkers are becoming increasingly available. They supplement clinical and radiographic information, allowing clinicians to make better decisions. Patients can also use biomarkers to obtain information about their health status and the need for dental care. Although biomarkers are most commonly used to decide whether a patient has a disease, their usefulness is more expansive. As Fig. 1 shows, biomarkers are important for identifying severity of disease, ongoing activity of disease, disease progression, and response to therapy. With respect to periodontal disease, salivary analytes interleukin 1 beta (IL-1b), matrix metalloprotease 8 (MMP-8), and macrophage inflammatory protein-1 alpha (MIP-1a) have recently been shown to serve in these roles.
