Evidence-Based Research on Effectiveness of Periodontal Treatment in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective To gauge the evidence of periodontal therapy's impact on measures of disease activity and systemic inflammatory burden in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods A search for randomized trials and controlled cohort studies of RA patients with periodontitis was conducted on April 7, 2019, with an update on December 17, 2020 in PubMed, Cochrane Library (CENTRAL), Embase, , and the World Health Organization International Clinical Trial Registry Platform portal. Two reviewers screened titles and abstracts and selected papers for full-text review. We used Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT)-endorsed outcome domains for RA trials and summarized continuous outcomes using standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). We evaluated inconsistency using the I-2 statistic and combined SMDs using random-effects models for the meta-analyses; fixed-effect meta-analyses were used for sensitivity analysis. To explore heterogeneity, we added stratified/meta-regression analyses, expressed in T-2. Results Of the 1,909 studies identified, 9 (including 10 comparisons) were eligible for quantitative synthesis (n = 388). Evidence suggested a favorable effect of periodontal treatment on disease activity (SMD -0.88 [95% CI -1.38, -0.38]; n = 311). The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach was used to judge the estimates' certainty; evidence rated as having low or very low certainty indicated that any possible effect of periodontal treatment in RA is likely to change as more evidence is provided. Selection bias and RA medication stability were highlighted as sources of heterogeneity between studies. Conclusion There is an urgent need for a well-designed prospective cohort study (preferably a randomized controlled trial) of patients with RA and periodontitis using rigorous protocols, standardized diagnostic criteria, data collection, and adequate duration of follow-up.