Markers of paradental tissue remodeling in the gingival crevicular fluid and saliva of orthodontic patients

This chapter presents an overview of the study of markers in oral fluids during orthodontic tooth movement (OTM) to date and prospects for the future. Both saliva and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) are inexpensive potential sources of personalized oral and general health information. GCF studies associated with orthodontic tooth movement have so far been predominating compared to saliva studies. Furthermore, although GCF and saliva are expected to have similar constituents, concentrations are higher in GCF. Although the research to date implies that markers are important for assessing the effects of orthodontic therapy, improved diagnostic trials are needed before oral fluid markers can be useful as predictive or analytical clinical tools. The chapter outlines the variables that need to be addressed in future diagnostic trials by presenting an overview of the knowledge gained from and the limitations of the previous research with respect to these variables.