Background Rheumatoid arthritis is the most prevalent chronic inflammatory muscle disease. It is correlated with periodontal disease due to similar factors that exist in their pathogenesis

Objectives The present study assessed the relationship of periodontal disease with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods In this case-control study, 30 RA patients along with similar number of matched controls were selected among patients referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital. Periodontal parameters including plaque index (PI), bleeding on probing (BOP), percentage of sites with CAL≥3mm, percentage of sites with PD≥4mm, clinical attachment loss (CAL) and probing depth (PD) were determined in cases and controls. ESR, number of painful and inflamed muscles and severity of disease were evaluated in RA patients. Periodontal parameters of cases and controls were statistically analyzed by Mann-Whitney U and Student t-tests while the relationship of periodontal parameters with RA findings were assessed by means of Spearman and Pearson’s correlation coefficients with an alpha error level less than 0.05.

Results PD (4.17mm vs. 3.6mm: p<0.0001), CAL (4.89mm vs. 4.18mm; p<0.002), percentage of sites with PD>4mm (58.83% vs. 44.33%; p<0.002), percentage of sites with CAL>3mm (74.13% vs. 64.4%; p<0.001), percentage of sites with bleeding on probing (9.67% vs. 6.87%; p<0.0001) and PI index (85.73% vs. 80.63%; p<0.0001) were significantly higher in RA patients than controls. In this group, direct and significant correlations were found between serologic findings, disease severity and number of painful and inflamed joints with periodontal factors.

Conclusions Severity of periodontal disease increases in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Thus, rheumatoid arthritis is a risk factor for periodontal disease.

Disclosure of Interest None Declared