Abstract

Background: Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease of microbial origin, causing progressive destruction of supporting structures of the teeth. Diabetes Mellitus and Periodontal Disease have a bidirectional link where the coexistence of both conditions worsen the other. Aim: of the study is to analyse immunohistochemically the expression of MMP 9 in Chronic Periodontitis patients with and without Diabetes Mellitus. Methodology: The study includes 4 groups. Group I: Controls (healthy periodontium) Group II: Chronic periodontitis without Diabetes Mellitus, Group III: Diabetes mellitus without Chronic Periodontitis, Group IV: Diabetes mellitus with Chronic Periodontitis. Gingival tissue samples were taken at the time of periodontal surgery and subjected to Immunohistochemistry, using anti-MMP-9 (Polyclonal rabbit anti-human MMP-9, Bio SB. Results: The immune postitive cells were scored as + (discrete number of immune positive cells), ++ (moderate number of positive cells), score +++ (large number of immune positive cells), while 0 represents negative expression. It is observed that the mean value score was ++ in Group II, and +++ in Group IV.There was a statistically significant increase in MMP 9 immunostained cells in Group IV. Conclusion: The increased MMP 9 expression in Group IV indicates an exaggerated inflammation causing unwanted periodontal tissue destruction. This shows the influence of diabetes on periodontal health