Gingival crevicular fluid alkaline phosphatase activity as growth marker: A systematic review

Abstract

Background: This review synthesizes the available evidence about the individual skeletal maturity with biological maturity indicators and compares it with the levels of gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity in growing children. Aims: This systematic review aimed to clarify the question: Is GCF ALP a reliable biomarker to assess skeletal maturity during growth? Objectives: The objective of this systematic review is to collect, compile, and review the existing evidence on the levels of GCF ALP activity in growing children and comparing its reliability with contemporary growth indicators. Materials and Methods: A literature appraisal executed using Entres PubMed, www.ncbi.nim.nih.gov, Scupose, Hinary, Ebsco, Embass, Cochrane; Google Scholar Electronic database search engines were used. The MeSH term used “growth markers in gingival crevicular fluid” or “growth markers in growing children.” Studies published till October, 2020, were included in this study. Data Extraction and Quality Assessment: The data have extracted from the selected articles based on year of publication, study design, age of subjects, instruments used, and author’s conclusions. The quality assessment was executed using BIOCROSS Scale. This scale is exclusive for cross-sectional studies with biomarkers. Results: Literature search identified 731 records from electronic databases and from the partial grey literature (Google scholar) search. Finally, six articles fulfilled eligibility criteria included in the review. Conclusions: All the six studies concluded that GCF ALP activity is a reliable method in determining a skeletal maturity indicator in growing children.