Raman spectroscopy for assessing bone tissue in periodontitis: A nonrandomized clinical and laboratory study

Background. In determining the dental status of a patient, the assessment of the jawbone tissue and the volume of bone structures are undoubtedly relevant focus areas. This process is instrumental in deciding on dental implantation, performing tooth-preserving regenerative procedures, treating periodontitis, selecting postoperative tactics, and making prognoses. In this article, spectral changes in bone tissue in periodontitis are studied using Raman spectroscopy as a diagnostic method that has been successfully applied in recent years to solve various biomedical problems. Objectives. To evaluate spectral changes in bone tissue of the mandible alveolar region in patients with periodontitis. Methods. A nonrandomized clinical and laboratory study was conducted in 45 patients aged 45 to 60 years at Samara State Medical University and the Center for Restorative Dentistry dental clinic of the Academy of Dentistry LLC. The control group (Group 1) included 17 bone tissue samples obtained from patients during surgical procedures on periapical tissues with an ICD-10 diagnosis of K04.5 and K04.8, in teeth with normal periodontium. The study group consisted of 28 samples of alveolar bone tissue from the lower jaw obtained from patients during procedures for chronic localized periodontitis diagnosed according to ICD-10 as K05.30, in teeth with periodontal pathology (Group 2). Raman spectroscopy was used to evaluate bone biopsies. Spectra were separated (deconvoluted) using the MagicPlotPro software (Magicplot Systems, LLC, Russia) for statistical analysis. The data obtained were analyzed using the IBMSPSS Statistics software environment (IBM, USA) by linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and comparative LDA analysis of groups. Results. In patients with periodontitis, spectral changes in bone tissue are observed, which are related to changes in the relative intensity of Raman scattering lines. In linear discriminant analysis (LDA), the main spectral changes are also observed for the combination scattering spectra of bone tissue at 850 cm –1 (proline benzene ring), 956 cm –1 (v 1 P−O symmetric valence (PO 4 3– ), 1069 cm –1 (C−O planar valence (СO 3 2– v1)), 1172 cm –1 (tyrosine, phenylalanine, C–H bond (protein)), 1315 cm –1 (amide III (α helix)), 1385–1441 cm –1 (scissor vibrations of CH 2 and bending vibrations of CH 3 in lipids and proteins), 1555 cm –1 (amide II N–H), 1665 cm –1 (amide I), 1745 cm –1 (phospholipids), which correspond to the mineral and organic components. Conclusion. Clinical and laboratory studies conducted to evaluate bone tissue in patients with periodontitis have revealed spectral differences from healthy bone tissue, which are manifested in the Raman scattering lines corresponding to the mineral-organic structure of bone tissue. Therefore, Raman spectroscopy appears to be a promising method for analyzing bone tissue condition in periodontitis. In the future, the data obtained may serve as a basis for optimizing approaches to periodontitis treatment.