Influence of periodontal treatment on rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Objective To evaluate the influence of periodontal treatment on rheumatoid arthritis activity. Methods MEDLINE/PUBMED, The Cochrane Library, Clinical Trials, SciELO and LILACS were searched for studies published until December 2014. Included articles were: prospective studies; including patients older than 18 years, diagnosed with periodontitis and rheumatoid arthritis submitted to non-surgical periodontal treatment; with a control group receiving no periodontal treatment; with outcomes including at least one marker of rheumatoid arthritis activity. Methodological quality of the studies was assessed using PEDro scale. Quantitative data were pooled in statistical meta-analysis using Review Manager 5. Results Four articles were included. Non-surgical periodontal treatment was associated with a significant reduction of DAS28 (OR: −1.18; 95% CI: −1.43, −0.93; p Conclusions The reduction of DAS 28 in patients with rheumatoid arthritis after periodontal treatment suggests that the improvement of periodontal condition is beneficial to these patients. Further randomized controlled clinical trials are necessary to confirm this finding.