Effects of non-surgical periodontal treatment in rheumatoid arthritis patients: A randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: The periodontal condition has a reciprocal relationship with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Rheumatoid arthritis patients are reported to present with more serious periodontal disease (PD) as compared to non-RA patients. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of non-surgical periodontal treatment on Vietnamese patients with active RA and PD, where the clinical characteristics and serum indices of the patients were of interest. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted a randomized clinical trial (RCT) on 82 RA patients with PD. The patients were randomly divided into 2 groups: the intervention group, consisting of patients who received oral hygiene instructions, scaling and root planing; and the control group, consisting of patients who received oral hygiene instructions only. Both groups received the same treatment plan for RA. The Disease Activity Score 28 based on C-reactive protein (DAS28-CRP), disease activity classification, rheumatoid factor (RF), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), anti-citrullinated protein autoantibodies (ACPAs), and C-reactive protein (CRP) were monitored, with the measurements taken at 3 months and 6 months following the treatment. RESULTS: The 2 groups exhibited similar parameters at baseline. In the intervention group, DAS28-CRP and disease activity classification were significantly reduced at 3 months after treatment as compared to the baseline data. At 6 months following the treatment there was a significant decrease in ESR, ACPAs and DAS28-CRP in the intervention group, while the control group showed a decrease only in ACPAs. Further, when comparing the intervention and control groups at 6 months following the treatment, there were no differences between the groups in the ACPAs, RF and CRP serum levels. CONCLUSIONS: Non-surgical periodontal treatment can significantly reduce DAS28-CRP, disease activity classification, ESR, and the ACPAs level in serum, and can be applied to reduce RA severity in RA patients with PD.