The Assessment of Periodontal Parameters, Salivary Total Protein and Albumin Contents in Patients Taking Warfarin

Statement of Problem: In thrombosis and ambolism therapy, one of the therapeutive options is the use of anticoagulents. Patients who take anticoagulants are susceptible to bleeding and cannot brush or floss their teeth. They are prone to periodontitis. Periodontal diseases are associated with periodontal cell destruction and consequently their cell contents would be found in the saliva. Purpose: The assessment of albumin and total protein contents and determination of its correlation with periodontal parameters in patients who take warfarin are the goals of the present study. Materials and Method: In this case-control study, the subjects were classified into 2 groups of patients who took warfarin (case group) and those who did not take any medication (control group). In both groups, periodontal parameters such as plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), pocket depth (PD), bleeding on probing (BOP) and clinical attachment loss (CAL), and total protein and albumin were assessed. T-test and Pearson test were used to analyze the data. Results: Although salivary albumin was significantly higher in the case group in comparison with the control one, total salivary protein contents were not observed differently between the two groups. Compared with the control group, periodontal clinical parameters were high in the case group and obvious significant differences were seen ( p < 0.05). Conclusion: Appropriate oral and gingival hygiene instruction is necessary due to the high periodontal clinical parameters in patients who take warfarin.