Objective      To determine the expression of miR-146a in saliva of patients with chronic periodontitis and investigate its clinical value.       Methods      Forty-eight chronic periodontitis patients admitted in stomatology of Southwest Hospital from January 2012 to August 2013 were investigated (including 28 males and 20 females at a mean age of 42 years) and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers were enrolled as healthy controls. Real-time PCR was performed to detect the expression of saliva miR-146a in these subjects. Thirty-two patients with chronic periodontitis were treated with basic periodontal therapy for 6 weeks. Their probing depth (PD)

attachment loss (AL) and plaque index (PLI) were recorded before and after treatment.       Results       The expression of saliva miR-146a were higher in chronic periodontitis patients than in the healthy controls (2.52±0.87 vs 0.81±0.58

P0.01). After basic periodontal therapy

the MiR-146a expression and all periodontal indexes were reduced (P0.05). Positive correlation was found between saliva miR-146a expression with periodontal PD (r=0.574

P0.05)

AL (r=0.629

P0.01) and PLI (r=0.758

P0.01).       Conclusion       MiR-146a expression is obviously stronger in saliva of patients with chronic periodontitis than in healthy people

and significantly decreased after initial therapy

indicating that miR-146a may be considered as a potential target for prevention and treatment of chronic periodontitis.