 Background: Untreated periodontal disease may influence general health. However, how may a physician who is not trained in periodontal probing detect untreated periodontitis? Activated matrix metalloproteinase-8 aMMP-8 in saliva correlates with periodontal probing parameters. Thus, sensitivity and specificity of a chair-side test for activated matrix metalloproteinase-8 to detect periodontitis was evaluated. 