Screening of elevated glucose levels in gingival crevice blood using a novel, sensitive self-monitoring device.
OBJECTIVE
To test the feasibility of using gingival crevice blood (GCB) collected during routine periodontal examination to estimate blood glucose levels using a novel and very sensitive self-monitoring device (FreeStyle).


METHODS
Forty-six patients (20 male, 26 female; age range 12-56 years, mean age 36 +/- 11 years) seeking dental treatment took part in the study. Three and 4 patients reported diabetes mellitus type 1 and 2, respectively; 24 had gingivitis, of which 22 were moderate or advanced periodontitis. Periodontal probing depth (PD) and clinical attachment loss was measured at 6 sites of every tooth present, and bleeding on probing (BOP) was recorded. A site with profuse BOP was chosen for glucose determination. Measurements in GCB were compared with those of conventional capillary fingerstick blood (CFB).


RESULTS
Sufficiently large GCB volumes provided glucometer readings in 32 cases (range 1.17-10.00 mmol/l). The CFB readings ranged between 1.39 and 11.50 mmol/l. If low amounts of crevice blood prohibited a glucometer reading, significantly lower mean numbers of sites with BOP (26 vs. 67, p <0.001) and elevated PD > or =4 mm (2 vs. 21, p <0.05) were seen. Agreement between the two measurements was low, the mean difference was -1.22, and limits of agreement (1.96 times the standard deviation of differences) were +/-2.89 mmol/l.


CONCLUSIONS
The present study failed to provide any evidence for the usefulness of GCB for testing blood glucose during routine periodontal examination.
Department of Surgical Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, Kuwait University, Kuwait. hp.muller@hsc.kuniv.edu.kw
H-P
HP
Müller
E
E
Behbehani
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis*; D015190:Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005881:Gingiva / Q000098:blood supply*; D005883:Gingival Crevicular Fluid / Q000737:chemistry*; D005891:Gingivitis / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D012039:Regional Blood Flow
D001786:Blood Glucose