Title: Relationship Between Salivary Cortisol Levels and Periodontal Disease – Dr. Elena Grămadă, Dr. Dănilă Claudiu Adrian, Sef Lucrari Dr. Corlan Ionut 

Dr Elena Grămadă, dentist and Pediatric Dentistry specialist, graduated from The Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Medicine and Farmacy “Gr. T. Popa” Iași in 2018. She obtained the title of Specialist in Pediatric Dentistry in 2021, she has participated in numerous training courses especially in the field of Prosthodontics and currently, she is a resident doctor in General Dentistry at The University of „Vasile Goldiș” Arad.

Periodontal disease is a chronic inflammatory condition that affects the supporting tissues of the teeth, with chronic stress, depression, and anxiety as risk factors. Stress activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, leading to increased cortisol secretion, which may influence disease progression.

Objectives:

1. To compare salivary cortisol levels between patients with periodontal disease and healthy individuals.
2. To analyze the correlation between disease severity and cortisol concentration.
3. To investigate additional risk factors such as chronic stress and smoking.

Methodology: A meta-analysis based on clinical studies was conducted, with saliva samples analyzed using ELISA techniques. Patients were classified according to disease severity.

Results: Patients with periodontitis had significantly higher salivary cortisol levels compared to healthy individuals (5.82 ± 2.42 nmol/L vs. 2.54 ± 0.88 nmol/L, p < 0.001). Cortisol levels progressively increased with disease severity.

Conclusions: Chronic stress and elevated cortisol levels are associated with accelerated progression of periodontal disease. Salivary cortisol screening could be a useful method for identifying high-risk patients, and stress management and smoking cessation are essential in disease prevention.