title: Periodontal infection as a possible severity factor for rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Clinical effects of periodontal treatment on biochemical and clinical markers of disease severity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with periodontal disease were evaluated.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-two patients were assigned to two groups, G1 (n=16) and G2 (n=26). G1 patients were submitted to oral hygiene instruction and professional tooth cleaning and G2 patients additionally had full-mouth scaling and root planing (SRP). Clinical periodontal measurements were obtained at baseline and 3 months after periodontal treatment. A Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) was used to evaluate their performance on daily living. Rheumatoid factor (RF), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and drug therapy were assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both groups presented a full-mouth improvement in all periodontal clinical parameters (p<0.05), with the exception of clinical attachment level (CAL) and probing pocket depth (PPD) >6 mm for G1. G2 showed greater mean reductions on PPD >4 mm than G1 (p<0.001). HAQ analyses showed a reduction on the degree of disability of G2, but not statistically significant. ESR was significantly reduced for G2 after SRP although RF did not show statistical reductions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The data suggest that periodontal treatment with SRP might have an effect on the ESR reduction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
authors.forename: Juliana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leão
authors.forename: Arthur B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Novaes
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy; D001799:Blood Sedimentation; D012534:Dental Scaling; D005260:Female; D006267:Health Education, Dental; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012217:Rheumatoid Factor / Q000032:analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D012217:Rheumatoid Factor