title: Periodontal pathogens and respiratory diseases- evaluating their potential association: a clinical and microbiological study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate whether any potential association exists between respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and periodontal health status clinically and or microbiologically.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty patients of COPD (test group) and 50 Patients without COPD (control group) were recruited for the study with more than 20 years of age with at least six natural teeth. All the patients were nonsmokers. Periodontal health was assessed by measuring clinical attachment loss (CAL) and gingival bleeding by using William's graduated periodontal probe. Microbiological evaluation was done by collecting sputum samples of the subjects with respiratory diseases to find out any periodontal pathogen in the lung fluid.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results showed that the subjects with COPD had significantly more bleeding sites (i.e. >20%) and had more of the clinical mean attachment loss (2.84 ± 0.66) than those without COPD. On the basis of the observed results of the study, we can hypothesize that the risk for COPD appeared to be significantly elevated when attachment loss was found to be severe.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is conceivable that oral interventions that improve oral health status may prove to lower the severity of lung infection in susceptible populations.
authors.affiliation: Reader, Department of Periodontics, PDU Dental College and Hospital, Solapur, Maharashtra, India, e-mail: vadi24@rediffmail.com.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vadiraj
authors.forename: Rashmita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nayak
authors.forename: Gopal Krishna
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Choudhary
authors.forename: Nitin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kudyar
authors.forename: B R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Spoorthi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D002175:Candida / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005884:Gingival Hemorrhage / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017622:Periodontal Attachment Loss / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology*; D010512:Periodontal Index; D017861:Porphyromonas / Q000302:isolation & purification; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013183:Sputum / Q000382:microbiology; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013291:Streptococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification