OBJECTIVETo assess the correlation between sulfide levels in periodontal and volatile sulfide compounds (VSC) in oral cavity and to assess the correlation between sulfide levels in periodontal pocket (pS) and periodontal clinical parameters.

METHODSVSC in oral cavity was measured by halimeter one week after grossly supragingival cleaning. Then pS in periodontal pockets was measured by Diamond probe/Perio 2000 system, followed by probing using Williams periodontal probe to get the records of probing depth (PD). Based on the above examination results, 4 - 8 sites with PD > or = 5 mm and/or pS > 0 were selected for the following longitude observation in each patient. The plaque index (PLI), bleeding index (BI), clinical attachment level (CAL) of the target site were recorded. The same examination was repeated during the recalling time of 6 weeks, 3 and 6 months after the initial periodontal therapy.

RESULTSVSC levels are significantly correlated with the numbers of sites with pS > 0 (r = 0.592, P < 0.001) and pS value. pS values were positively correlated with BI at low level during the maintenance time of 6 weeks, 3 and 6 months (r = 0.183, 0.411, 0.350, P < 0.05) respectively. After the initial therapy pS, PD, CAL, BI, PLI and VSC in oral cavity significantly improved at 6 weeks (P < 0.001) and further improved and kept stable at 3 and 6 months.

CONCLUSIONSpS reflects the sulfide levels in pockets with site specificity and may be considered as objective parameter to evaluate the treatment effect, and to indicate the early inflammation in periodontal tissue during the maintenance period.