REDUCED SALIVARY MELATONIN LEVELS IN PERIODONTITIS: INSIGHTS INTO INFLAMMATION AND OXIDATIVE STRESS

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this narrative literature review is to address the possible correlation with low levels of salivary melatonin as a factor that promotes the development of periodontal diseases.

Methodology: Because this is a narrative literature review, it was necessary to search online databases to obtain a set of articles that could be used in the review. Thus, searches were conducted in the following databases: Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMBASE, and Google Scholar, using the following descriptors: Melatonin, Salivary, and Periodontitis. PubMed searches also included the use of Boolean terms such as "AND" and "OR." These searches yielded a wide range of results, necessitating a study screening process. The screening process was divided into three stages: The first involved deduplication of duplicate articles using Zotero, eliminating duplicates. The second stage involved eliminating articles by reading their abstracts and titles. This phase involved reading both components of the articles, removing studies that were not compatible with the present topic. The third and final phase involved reading the article in its entirety, eliminating articles that did not fit the topic and saving those that did for use in this narrative literature review.

Results: Randomized clinical trials and other studies have shown that people with periodontal disease have lower salivary melatonin levels compared to healthy individuals. Furthermore, other studies have shown that people with type 2 diabetes mellitus and periodontal disease also have low salivary melatonin levels.

Conclusion: Studies have demonstrated a relationship between low salivary melatonin levels in individuals with periodontal disease, however, further randomized clinical trials are needed to further study this relationship.