THE SEVERITY OF PERIODONTAL DISEASE IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Objective: There is an increasing interest in the associations between oral health and auto-inflammatory diseases. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and periodontal disease (PD) are the most common chronic inflammatory conditions often coexist as well. The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare RA patients and healthy controls in terms of PD severity and jaw gripping force. To our knowledge, there is only one study evaluating jaw gripping force of patients with RA in the literature. Material and Method: RA patients (n=60) and healthy controls (n=60) were included in the study. Both RA patients and the control group were examined for their gingival index, plaque index, probing dept, attachment loss, and number of teeth. In addition, jaw gripping forces of all participants were measured by digital dynamometer. The data obtained were compared between two groups. Results: There were no significant differences in participants' age, gender, body mass index, education level, frequency of tooth brushing and smoking between two groups (all, p>0.05). RA patients' scores were significantly lower compared to controls considering the number of teeth (respectively, 16 and 20; p<0.001) and jaw gripping force (respectively, 0.6 and 1.30; p<0.001). Conclusion: There is a strong association between RA and PD. The severity of PD is significantly increased in RA patients compared to healthy controls. Periodontal health should be considered in the management of patients with RA.