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Case Western Reserve University study may have found a new treatment option for people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis: periodontal therapy.

People who suffer from both gum disease and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) reduced their arthritic pain, number of swollen joints, and the degree of morning stiffness with non-surgical periodontal therapy, according to the study findings (Journal of Periodontology, April 2009, Vol. 80:4,pp. 535-540).

“It was exciting to find that if we eliminated the infection and inflammation in the gums, then patients with a severe kind of active rheumatoid arthritis reported improvement in the signs and symptoms of that disease, “ said lead author Nabil Bissada, D.D.S., chairman  of the department of periodontics at Case Western reserve University.” It gives us a new intervention.”

This is not the first time that Dr. Bissada and his colleagues have found a link between gum disease and RA. A previous study by the same school found that control of periodontal infection and gingival inflammation by scaling/root planing and plaque control in subjects with periodontal disease could reduce the severity of RA (Journal of Clinical Rheumatology, June 2007, Vol. 13:3, pp. 134-137).

 Periodontitis and RA share similar clinical and pathogenic characteristics, wrote Dr. Bissada and his colleagues in their latest study. Both diseases are characterized by the local destruction of hard and soft tissues as a consequence of inflammation.

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