Background: Recent epidemiologic studies suggest that inflammation is the link between periodontal diseases and cardiovascular complications. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of non-surgical periodontal treatment on plasma levels of inflammatory markers (interleukin [IL]-6, C-reactive protein [CRP], and fibrinogen) in patients with severe periodontitis and refractory arterial hypertension.
Methods: Twenty-two patients were examined and randomly divided into two groups. The test group was composed of 11 patients (mean age, 48.9 +/- 3.9 years) who received periodontal treatment, whereas the control group had 11 patients (mean age, 49.7 +/- 6.0 years) whose treatment was delayed for 3 months. Demographic and clinical periodontal data were collected, and blood tests were performed to measure the levels of IL-6, CRP, and fibrinogen at baseline and 3 months later.
Results: The clinical results showed that the mean percentages of sites with bleeding on probing, probing depth (PD) 4 to 5 mm, PD > or =6 mm, clinical attachment loss (CAL) 4 to 5 mm, and CAL > or =6 mm were significantly reduced in the test group 3 months after periodontal treatment. There were no significant differences between the data at baseline and 3 months in the control group. Periodontal treatment significantly reduced the blood levels of fibrinogen, CRP, and IL-6 in the test group.
Conclusion: Non-surgical periodontal therapy was effective in improving periodontal clinical data and in reducing the plasma levels of IL-6, CRP, and fibrinogen in hypertensive patients with severe periodontitis.