Cross‐Sectional Evaluation of Periodontal Status and Microbiologic and Rheumatoid Parameters in a Large Cohort of Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Background: This study evaluates periodontal conditions and microbiologic findings and their influence on rheumatologic disease parameters in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: One hundred and sixty‐eight patients with RA were included. A healthy control group (HC, n = 168) was composed according to age, sex, and smoking habits. Rheumatologic data (duration of illness, Disease Activity Score 28, rheumatic factor [RF], anti‐cyclic citrullinated peptide [aCCP], medications) were extracted from patients’ records. Dental examination included: 1) dental findings (decayed, missing, and/or filled adult teeth [DMF‐T] index); 2) gingival inflammation (papillary bleeding index [PBI]); and 3) periodontal status (probing depth [PD], attachment loss [AL]). Periodontal condition was classified as healthy/mild, moderate, or severe periodontitis. Subgingival biofilm was analyzed regarding 11 periodontopathogenic bacteria. Statistical analyses included: 1) Kolmogorov–Smirnov test; 2) Mann–Whitney U test; 3) Pearson χ 2 test; 4) Kruskal–Wallis test; and 5) regression analysis; level of significance α = 5%. Results: Mean DMF‐T was significantly higher in patients with RA (19.3 ± 4.8) than in HC group (16.9 ± 5.8), especially owing to number of missing teeth (RA = 6.0 ± 5.4, HC = 3.1 ± 3.3; P <0.01). Patients with RA had a significantly higher proportion of increased PD ( P <0.01) and AL compared with HC group ( P <0.01). Moderate to severe periodontitis was noted in 98% of patients with RA and 82% of the HC group ( P <0.01). RF‐positive patients with RA suffered from worse periodontal conditions than RF‐negative patients ( P = 0.01). Age, PBI, and presence of Treponema denticola ( P <0.03) are related to periodontal condition in patients with RA. Although not statistically significant, Porphyromonas gingivalis and Fusobacterium nucleatum occur in higher concentrations more often in aCCP‐positive patients with RA ( P = 0.06). Conclusions: Patients with RA had worse periodontal conditions than HC participants. Although a trend for higher F. nucleatum and P. gingivalis concentrations in aCCP‐positive patients with RA was found, importance of periodontal pathogenic bacteria and rheumatoid parameters in the interrelationship between periodontitis and RA remains unclear.