The effect of aspirin on the periodontal parameter bleeding on probing

Abstract

ABSTRACT
Background: The absence or presence of bleeding on probing (BOP) is a sign of periodontal health or disease, but the presence of BOP is not an accurate predictor of disease progression. Aspirin is increasingly used in the prevention of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases and is a non-disease factor that may modify bleeding indices given its antithrombolytic activity. The objective of this double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial was to study the effect of short-term daily aspirin ingestion on the clinical parameter BOP.
Materials and methods: A total of 60 subjects were randomly assigned to oral administration to one of three arms: placebo (group 1), 100mg aspirin (group 2) , 300mg aspirin (group 3). Before (visit 1 – V1) and after 7 days (visit 2 – V2) exposure to the respective regimens, clinical parameters were measured on all teeth, included plaque index (PLI), probing depth (PD) and BOP.
Results: The primary measure of interest was BOP so, the results of this study indicate that the group treated with 300mg aspirin demonstrated a statistically significant increase from base line in percent of BOP compared to the placebo group and 100mg aspirin group.
Conclusion: Failure to consider the effects of aspirin on BOP could impair proper diagnosis and treatment planning for clinicians and introduce a significant confounding variable in research situations.
Key words: Aspirin, bleeding on probing, clinical trial. (J Bagh Coll Dentistry 2006; 18(2) 63-67)