The effect of the treatment of periodontitis on rheumatoid arthritis disease activity in patients who referred to Rheumatology clinic, Semnan

Background: Many patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which is one of the most common inflammatory diseases, at the same time, suffer from periodontitis. Since some studies have shown a common biochemical link between the synchronicity of these two diseases, we decided to investigate the effects of periodontal therapy on disease activity in RA.
Materials and Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 30 patients with simultaneous RA and periodontitis referred to the rheumatology clinic in Semnan from March 2014 to February 2016 were selected through census method. Disease activity score uses 28 joint counts (DAS28) questionnaires were completed and referred to executive dentist of the project. Patients with confirmed periodontitis were received treatments including non-surgical scaling, Root planning, systemic antibiotics (10-day period, capsules of amoxicillin and metronidazole, 3 per day) and chlorhexidine as well as oral health education. Then, at days 45 and 90 after treatment, the patients were visited by a rheumatologist and DAS28 questionnaire was again completed. ESR and CRP of each visit were evaluated in reference laboratories at Semnan University of Medical Sciences.
Results: the evaluation of 30 patients with mean age of 50.2±10.62 years (80% female) showed that the difference in the level of disease activity between baseline versus 45 days later (5.18±0.092 vs 4.02±1.22, p