Abstract
Background and aims. Psoriasis and periodontitis are characterized by an exaggerated host immune response to epithelial
cell surface microbiota. Thus, mediators produced as part of host response orchestrate the inflammatory cascade and cause
tissue destruction. The aim this study was to investigate the prevalence of periodontitis in psoriasis patients, and to find whether
any correlation exists between them.
Materials and methods. This hospital-based cross-sectional study included 100 age- and gender-matched subjects divided
into two groups: group 1: psoriasis (test) and group 2: chronic periodontitis (CP) (control). Both groups were evaluated for
periodontal clinical parameters (gingival index (GI), plaque index (PI), probing depth (PD), periodontal attachment level
(PAL) and tooth loss (1-3 or ≥4). Furthermore, subgingival microbial analysis of dental plaque was carried out to estimate the
levels of periodontopathic organisms, using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). ANOVA, independent sample t-test and chisquare
test were used for statistical analysis.
Results. Psoriasis patients showed significantly higher GI, PI, PD, PAL and tooth loss (≥4) compared to controls. Furthermore,
their microbiological analysis showed significantly greater number of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and Porphyromonas
gingivalis positive samples. However, no difference was found in Tannerella forsythia positive samples.
Conclusions. The prevalence of periodontitis is higher in psoriasis subjects as compared to age- and gender-matched periodontitis
controls. We hypothesized that this assumption is valid as periodontitis shares several important common pathways
with psoriasis. Further studies with larger sample sizes are warranted to substantiate this association.