Cytokine profile of oral fluid in case of traumatic fractures of the lower jaw and the presence of third molars in patients` oral cavity

Objective. To analyze the level of cytokines in the oral fluid of patients with traumatic fractures of the mandible in the presence of third molars, to establish the influence of the latter on the oral cavity homeostasis, to determine the most informative indicators. Materials and methods. 82 people aged 18–60 years took part in the study, they were divided into 3 groups. Group 1 contained 43 patients with mandibular fracture and having more than two third molars. Group 2 consisted of 18 patients with mandibular fracture, without third molars. Group 3 included 21 people without a fracture of the mandible, who had more than two-thirds of the molars. Group 4 (control) contained the data of somatically and dentally healthy individuals, borrowed from special literature. The levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-a in OF were determined using standard enzyme immunoassay kits. The data were processed statistically. Results. A comparison of the indicators of groups 1 and 3 revealed a significant increase in the level of IL-6 z = 4.15 (H = 20.43; p = 0.0001) and the level of IL-8 z = 3.08 (H = 12.29; p = 0.0064) in patients with a jaw fracture. A considerable increase in IL-8 levels was determined in the individuals from group 2 compared with group 3 – z = 2.74 (H = 12.29; p = 0.0064). The comparison of groups 1 and 4 in terms of TNF-a showed a tendency to a significant difference of z = 1.60 (H = 4.65; p = 0.19), and the data of group 2 in comparison with group 4 were significantly higher than z = 1.97 (H = 4.65; p = 0.19). Comparing the results of groups 3 and 4 with each other we revealed a considerable difference of z = 1.75 (H = 4.65; p = 0.19). Conclusion. The profile of cytokines level in the OF indicates that the presence of third molars in the oral cavity in mandibular fractures affects the homeostasis of the oral cavity negatively, which is the reason for expanding the indications for their removal in order to prevent infectious and inflammatory complications.