CAN GINGIVAL CREVICULAR FLUID HELP IN DIAGNOSING PULP INFLAMMATION? A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Authors

• Wael Kassamany, Faculty of Dentistry, Beirut Arab UniversityFollow
• Roula Abiad, Faculty of Dentistry, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, LebanonFollow

English Title

GINGIVAL CREVICULAR FLUID HELP IN DIAGNOSING PULP INFLAMMATION

Keywords

Biomarkers, Inflammatory markers, Cytokines, Pulp inflammation, Gingival crevicular fluid.

Disciplines

Dentistry | Endodontics and Endodontology | Medicine and Health Sciences | Orofacial Pain | Periodontics and Periodontology

Abstract

This review aims to find if there’s a positive correlation between biological markers detected in human gingival crevicular fluid and pulp inflammation.

An electronic search of three databases; PubMed, EBSCOhost and Google Scholar was conducted using the keywords “tooth or teeth or pulp” AND “gingival crevice fluid or gingival crevicular fluid” for English articles published between the year 1990 and 2026. Information regarding study design, patients age range and gender distribution, sampling method used, types of biomarkers studied, assay test used, and key findings of each article were extracted and analyzed.

Biomarkers studied were substance P “SP”, neurokinin A “NKA”, interleukin-8 “IL-8”, tumor necrosis factor alpha “TNF-α”, calcitonin gene-related peptide “CGRP” and human nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich repeat, and pyrin domain-containing-3 protein “NLRP3”. The sampling method most commonly used to collect the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) was a periopaper strip placed within the gingival sulcus for 1 minute. As for the assay test, ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) was found to be the most frequently used. In all studies included in this review, higher levels of biomarkers were detected when pulp inflammation/stimulation was present. These levels decreased significantly 1 week after pulpectomy in interventional studies.

Pulp inflammation can be associated with elevated levels of biomarkers in GCF, however future studies are needed to investigate the possibility of correlating certain biomarkers and their levels specifically and accurately with pulpal conditions

Author ORCID Identifier

Wael  Kassamany : www.orcid.org/0009-0000-4120-2168

Roula  Abiad: www.orcid.org/0000-0002-4807-3028

Recommended Citation

Kassamany, Wael and Abiad, Roula (2026) "CAN GINGIVAL CREVICULAR FLUID HELP IN DIAGNOSING PULP INFLAMMATION? A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW," BAU Journal - Science and Technology: Vol. 7: Iss. 2, Article 5.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54729/2959-331X.1166

ISSN

2959-331X