Dental Health and Psoriatic Arthritis

Inflammation causes joint pain in people with psoriatic arthritis. It is also related to dental health. Does this make people with psoriatic arthritis at risk for dental health problems?

Researchers found that people with psoriatic arthritis did not have more gum disease or plaque build-up. But more people with psoriatic arthritis had weak tooth attachment, which is a measure of dental health. The authors suggested that people with psoriatic arthritis should have their tooth attachment checked.

Talk to your dentist about tooth attachment.

Kemal Üstün, DDS, PhD, of the Department of Periodontology at Gaziantep University in Turkey, and colleagues recruited 51 adults with psoriatic arthritis and 50 people without psoriatic arthritis. The researchers measured gum health, plaque levels, clinical attachment loss and gingivitis.

Tooth attachment is the way that the tooth is connected to the gums and jaw bone. Clinical attachment loss is a measure of how well the tooth is attached. High levels of clinical attachment loss are a sign of poor dental health. One study found that clinical attachment loss can lead to tooth movement and inflammation in the gums, which can be painful.

Results showed that more patients with psoriatic arthritis had clinical attachment loss. Psoriatic arthritis was not linked with poor gum health or plaque levels.

The authors concluded, “The results of the present study show that periodontitis severity as determined by clinical attachment loss was higher in the psoriatic arthritis group; therefore, periodontal evaluation must be considered when psoriatic arthritis is diagnosed.”

The study was published January 8 in Inflammation. Funding information and conflicts of interest were not provided on the journal’s website.