Clinical and Microbiological Effects of Non-surgical Periodontal Treatment in Individuals with Rheumatoid Arthritis: a Controlled Clinical Trial

The effect of periodontal treatment on clinical, microbiological and serological parameters of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are scarce and controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of non-surgical periodontal treatment on clinical periodontal status, subgingival bacterial levels of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, Treponema denticola and RA activity through a controlled clinical trial on individuals with RA and periodontitis (PE). From a convenience sample, 107 individuals were considered eligible and consecutively allocated in four groups: (1) individuals without PE and RA (- PE-RA, n = 30); (2) individuals without PE and with RA (- PE + RA, n = 23); (3) individuals with PE and RA (+ PE + RA, n = 24); and (4) individuals with PE and without RA (+ PE-RA, n = 30). Full-mouth periodontal clinical examinations, microbiological analysis and Disease Activity Score (DAS-28) evaluations were performed at baseline (T1) and 45 days after non-surgical periodontal treatment (T2). At T1, individuals + PE + RA showed greater severity of PE than + PE-RA individuals. At T2, significant reductions were observed in all periodontal clinical parameters in both groups (p < 0.001) with a significant reduction in DAS-28 in + PE + RA (p = 0.011). Individuals + PE-RA and + PE-RA showed significant reductions for all bacteria (p < 0.001). Additionally, P. gingivalis demonstrated an expressively significant reduction in + PE + RA (p < 0.001). Non-surgical periodontal treatment was effective on improving the clinical periodontal condition, improving the RA clinical status and reducing the presence of periodontal pathogens. Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (ReBEC) protocol #RBR-8g2bc8 ( https://www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-8g2bc8/ ).