Periodontal status, oral inflammatory biomarker, and relative expression of red complex bacteria in periodontitis-rheumatoid arthritis: a cross-sectional preliminary study.

Objectives: To determine the differences in periodontal status-Probing Depth (PD), Clinical Attachment Loss (CAL), Bleeding on Probing (BOP); oral inflammatory biomarkers-Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNF-α), Interleukin 1 Beta (IL-1β), Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2); and the relative expression of red complex bacteria- Materials and methods: A cross-sectional preliminary study by exploring periodontal clinical parameters, gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) inflammatory biomarker levels, and subgingival plaque relative expression of red complex bacteria. A total of 21 subjects, samples were taken one-time from patients with periodontitis (n=12) and periodontitis with RA (n=9). Biomarker levels were analyzed using the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and bacterial expression was measured using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). All periodontal parameters, GCF biomarkers, and bacterial expression were then analyzed accordingly. Results: No statistically significant differences (p > 0.05) were found for PD and CAL. BOP ​​was significantly higher in the periodontitis group than periodontitis+RA group. All biomarker levels were significantly increased in the periodontitis+RA group compared to periodontitis group. No significant difference in total bacterial expression (16sRNA) among groups. Conclusions: In this exploratory study, patients with periodontitis and RA exhibited significantly higher inflammatory biomarkers levels, indicating an amplified inflammatory response. This exploratory study identifies numerical trends suggesting that systemic condition may be associated with a suppressed red complex profile in Indonesian RA patients.