Periodontal Therapy in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Aim: A prospective randomized, controlled clinical trial comparing two groups of a cohort of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients with periodontal disease will be carried out to identify if the effect of non-surgical periodontal therapy is a predictor of remission/ low disease activity (LDA)-remission. Methods: 42 patients with RA and periodontitis from the RA Almenara cohort will be included (ACR 1987 and or ACR/EULAR 2010 criteria with more than 16 years old at diagnosis); those with \=5mm, probing depth \>=5mm and bleeding on probing according with the 2018 periodontitis diagnostic criteria. Two RA patients groups will be follow up by monthly visits. Patients will be divided into two groups (intervention and no intervention treatment). PD treatment will be performed by a qualified periodontist. No intervention group will receive PD treatment after 6 month visit because ethical principles. Disease activity will be determined according with DAS 28index, Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) and Simple Disease Activity Index (SDAI) scores, C-reactive protein (CRP), the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and rheumatoid factor levels will be registered before and after PD treatment (baseline, 3 and 6 months visits), and the differences between the groups will be analyzed and compared. Periodontal parameters including probing depth (PD), clinical attachment loss, and sulcus bleeding index (SBI) will be correlated with the factor levels.