Article Type: Peer Review Study Links

Inflammatory mechanisms may be thought to act in concert to increase systemic inflammation in periodontal disease and to pomote or exacerbate atherogenesis. However, proof that the increase in systemic inflammation attributable to periodontitis impacts inflammatory responses during atheroma development, thrombotic events or myocardial infarction or stroke is lacking.

This review included evidence for an increased risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ACVD) in patients with periodontitis compared to patients without; however, this may not apply to all groups of the population. There is insufficient evidence for an association between periodontitis and the incidence of secondary cardiovascular events.

Periodontal therapy triggers a short-term inflammatory response followed by (a) a progressive and consistent reduction of systemic inflammation and (b) an improvement in endothelial function. There is, however, limited evidence that these acute and chronic changes will either increase or reduce cardiovascular disease (including coronary heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure and peripheral artery disease) ... Read more

This review of the molecular and cellular processes that may potentially link periodontal disease and diabetes included the pathogenic roles of cytokines and metabolic molecules (e.g., glucose, lipids) and the role of periodontal bacteria. Paradigms for bidirectional relationships between periodontitis and diabetes are discussed and opportunities for elaborating these models are considered. There is a ... Read more

Periodontal disease and diabetes mellitus are common, chronic diseases worldwide. Current evidence suggests that periodontal disease adversely affects diabetes outcomes, and that further longitudinal studies are warranted.

Although this review found a modest reduction in Haemobglobin A1C (HbA1c) as a result of periodontal therapy in subjects with type 2 diabetes, there is limited confidence in the conclusion due to a lack of multi-centre trials of sufficient sample size.

Maternal periodontitis directly and/or indirectly have potential to influence the health of the foetal-maternal unit. Two major pathways have been identified, one direct, in which oral microorganisms and/or their components reach the foetal-placental unit, and one indirect, in which inflammatory mediators circulate and impact the foetal-placental unit. Given the current evidence, various treatment strategies could ... Read more

There is still debate regarding potential relationships between maternal periodontitis during pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes. This review concludes maternal periodontitis is modestly but independently associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, but the findings are impacted by periodontitis case definitions. The authors suggest that future studies employ both continuous and categorical assessments of periodontal status. Additional, ... Read more

Preterm infants are at greater risk than term infants for physical and developmental disorders. Mobidity and mortality increases as gestational age at delivery decreases. Observational studies indicate an association between poor periodontal health and risk for preterm birth or low birthweight, making periodontitis a potentially modifiable risk factor for prematurity. This study determines that non-surgical ... Read more

Bacterial-induced gingival low-level inflammation induced a systemic increase in inflammatory markers, which are also known as surrogate markers of atherosclerotic plaque development. Dental hygiene almost completely reversed this experimental inflammatory process, suggesting that appropriate dental prophylaxis may also limit systemic markers of inflammation with natural gingivitis.