Dental and periodontal disease in hemodialysis patients is associated with inflammation; a study from North India

Introduction: poor oral health and periodontitis is an important problem in chronic kidney disease (ckd) patients on hemodialysis (hd) awaiting kidney transplantation. this could contribute to increased morbidity and mortality as a result of infections and consequences of inflammation. objectives: to study the oral health status and assess its impact in inducing inflammation in ckd patients on hd. patients and methods: fifty ckd patients on hd (group i) were compared with 50 healthy controls (group-ii) in a prospective cohort study. oral health assessment was done with the who oral health assessment form with a mouth mirror and a community periodontal index (cpi) probe by a trained dentist. the demographic clinical data of oral health and periodontitis was collected in dialysis patients and healthy controls. crp levels were assayed as markers of inflammation. results: data shows that patients on dialysis have evidence of increased inflammation as indicated by raised crp values. our study shows the poor oral and mouth hygiene and periodontitis and inflammation was much more in dialysis patients as compared to control group (p<0.05). amongst dialysis patients with higher inflammation (crp values), there was poorer oral health and more periodontitis (p<0.05). this indicates that higher inflammation could result from poor dental hygiene and periodontitis. conclusion: poor oral and mouth hygiene was associated with inflammation as indicated by high crp values in ckd patients on dialysis with poor dental hygiene. periodontitis was significantly associated with development of inflammation.