Healthy Mouth Healthy Body?
Explore Other Conditions
Smoking
Smoking has long been considered a strong risk factor for the development of periodontitis.** Smoking impairs the blood flow to the periodontal tissues, which prevents the body from mounting an effective immune response to periodontal bacteria, and which also inhibits tissue healing after the periodontitis has been treated. A recent study examined the effect of quitting smoking on a group of patients who were to undergo non-surgical treatment of periodontitis. The investigators reported that the patients who had quit smoking had improved healing and improved periodontal pocket probing depths when compared to patients who had not quit smoking.
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Respiratory Disease
Residents of long-term care facilities are often at a greater risk of developing respiratory diseases, such as pneumonia. Poor oral hygiene has been suggested as one possible reason for this development. It is believed that bacteria which can cause respiratory disease are present in dental plaque. Previous studies have demonstrated a reduced incidence of respiratory disease development in patients who had daily oral hygiene performed while in long-term care facilities. A recent study examined the levels of respiratory pathogens present in the dental plaque of patients in a long-term care facility. The investigators found that the dental plaque can be a source of respiratory pathogens, and suggest that oral hygiene protocols be instituted to reduce the development of respiratory disease in this population of patients.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Periodontitis** and rheumatoid arthritis are very similar in that both are inflammatory in nature and result in tissue damage and loss. It has been hypothesized that these similarities may provide an association between the two diseases, in that periodontitis** may influence rheumatoid arthritis and vice-versa. A recent study examined what impact treatment of periodontitis** would have on rheumatoid arthritis by measuring the level of biochemical and clinical markers in patients who have both diseases. The results indicate that treatment of periodontitis** may have an effect on the clinical and biochemical markers of rheumatoid arthritis.
