Link Between Rheumatoid Arthritis and Gum Disease Recently Studied

Rheumatoid arthritis has been known to cause debilitating pain in those that suffer from this autoimmune disease. New research from Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine and University Hospitals of Cleveland has found an unlikely way of reducing arthritic pain, the number of swollen joints and the degree of morning stiffness in people that suffer from a severe form of rheumatoid arthritis.

Treating gum disease does more than keep your teeth and gums healthy, according to Nabil Bissada, D.D.S., chair of the department of periodontics at the dental school, in this press release "It was exciting to find that if we eliminated the infection and inflammation in the gums, then patients with a severe kind of active rheumatoid arthritis reported improvement on the signs and symptoms of that disease."

If you suffer from rheumatoid arthritis diagnosing, treating, and regular maintenance of gum disease may soon become an integral part of your treatment plan. Rheumatologists will most likely be working closely with dentist, combining their expertise on both diseases, in order to restore the quality of life for patients that suffer from painful rheumatoid arthritis.