The Study Of The Relationship Between Rheumatoid Arthritis And Periodontal Disease

Object Because of several similar features in the pathobiology of periodontal disease and rheumatoid arthritis, there may be a possible relationship between the two diseases. The aim of this study were to investigate a population of rheumatoid arthritis patients and determine the percentage and the extent of periodontal disease in these patients and correlate these with various indicators of rheumatoid arthritis in order to study the relationship between rheumatoid arthritis and periodontal disease. Methods The experimental group was composted of 70 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and the levels of periodontitis and rheumatoid arthritis were examined; The control group consisted of 70 age- and gender- matched individuals without rheumatoid arthritis, and their levels of periodontitis were examined. Specific measures for periodontal disease included the number of missing teeth, bleeding on probing, periodontal disease index, clinical attachment loss, and radiographic bone loss scores. Measures of rheumatoid arthritis included morning stiffness, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and levels of C-reactive protein. The relationship between periodontal status in rheumatoid arthritis and control groups as well as the relationship between periodontal status and rheumatological findings in patientswere analyzed. Results The percentage of periodontal disease in rheumatoid arthritis was 67.14% versus 45.71% in the control group. The percentage of periodontal disease was statistically significant between experimental and control group (p<0.01). The difference of average number of missing teeth and bleeding on probing in the experimental group and control group were not statistically significant (p>0.05). There were more number of high level of periodontal disease index in experimental group than in control group (p<0.05). Rheumatoid arthritis patients with moderate to severe bone loss had deeper degree of morning stiffness (41?8.7 minutes) than patients with no or mild bone loss (28?8.0 minutes). The degree of morning stiffness is statistically significant. The mean erythrocyte sedimentation rate levels of rheumatoid arthritis patients with moderate to severe bone loss was 43.29?7.69 mm/hour, compared to 28.78?4.39mm/hour of patients with no or mild bone loss (p<0.05). There was a statistically significant relationship between them. The mean serum C-reactive protein level of rheumatoid arthritis patients with moderate to severe bone loss was 30.57?7.01mg/l, which was significantly higher than that of patients with no or mild bone loss with 13.25?0.22mg/l p<0.01. Conclusion Individuals with rheumatoid arthritis are more likely to experience periodontal disease compares to healthy subjects. They are also very likely to suffer from moderate to severe periodontitis. There is a significant association between the periodontal severity and rheumatological severity in rheumatoid arthritis patients. There may be a common underlying mechanism of the inflammatory response in these two diseases.