Conclusion
The oral neutrophil counts increased with the severity of periodontal inflammation. This is an easy, safe, reliable, and non-invasive method of quantification of oral neutrophils.
Methods
A total of 125 participants were divided into five groups with 25 subjects in each group. The groups consisted of healthy, gingivitis, mild periodontitis, moderate periodontitis, and severe periodontitis. Participants were asked to rinse with 10 mL of 0.9% saline for 30 s and to expectorate. Samples were centrifuged at 2000 RPM for 10 min. The supernatant removed was suspended in 5 mL of Hanks's balanced salt solution. One millilitre of this suspension was mixed with 4 μL of acridine orange. A 10 μL aliquot of this suspension was then assessed on a haemocytometer, and the oral PMNs were counted using fluorescence microscopy.
Results
The mean number of oral neutrophils (100,000 cells/mL) was the lowest in the healthy group and increased in ascending order across the different groups with the highest for severe periodontitis group.