Periodontal status of rheumatoid arthritis patients

The aim of this study is to compare the periodontitis prevalence and severity in a population of diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis Turkish patients with age and gender matched controls. A group of individuals (n=224), including 112 patients diagnosed with RA according to 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria, and 112 controls without RA and systemic diseases which is known to influence periodontal tissues were included in the study. The groups were matched according to age and gender. Patients were referred from the Rheumatology clinics of Istanbul University Medical Faculty Hospital and Istanbul Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital, and non-RA patients were asked to attend the study who had applied Istanbul University Medical Faculty hospital clinics. All participants underwent a full-mouth periodontal examination on six sites per tooth assesing plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), probing depth (PD), bleeding on probing (BOP), clinical attachment loss (CAL). All of the clinical parameters were significantly higher in control group except CAL (Clinical Attachment Level) values. CAL was higher in rheumatoid arthritis group and it was statistically significant. In addition, the prevalence of periodontitis was higher among rheumatoid arthritis patients. To confirm a cause - effect relationship between periodontitis and rheumatoid arthritis, more detailed interventional studies, which has microbiologic and biochemical parameters, are needed to evaluate both the effect of periodontal treatment on rheumatoid arthritis patients and the effect of RA treatment on periodontal status.