Periodontitis and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are inflammatory diseases that share many similarities. We aimed to investigate the associations of periodontitis and oral hygiene status and behaviors with RA in a nationwide general population cohort. Participants from the National Health Screening cohort database of Korea who underwent oral health screening by dentists between 2003 and 2004 were included. The occurrence of RA was analyzed according to the presence of periodontitis, oral health examination findings, and behaviors. Overall, 2,239,586 participants were included. During a median of 16.7 years, RA occurred in 27,029 (1.2%) participants. The risk for incident RA was higher when participants had periodontitis (hazard ratio (HR) 1.2, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.08−1.24) and an increased number of missing teeth (HR 1.5, 95% CI, 1.38−1.69). In contrast, better oral hygiene behaviors, such as a higher frequency of daily tooth brushing (HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.73–0.79, p for trend <0.001) and a recent history of dental scaling (HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.94–0.99), were associated with a lower occurrence of RA. Periodontitis and increased missing teeth were associated with an increased risk of RA. Maintaining good oral hygiene through frequent tooth brushing and regular dental scaling may reduce the risk of RA occurrence.

Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw is a rare but serious condition in which the jawbone fails to heal and becomes necrotic, typically after dental surgery in patients treated with bisphosphonates. However, clear evidence guiding how long bisphosphonate treatment should be paused before dental surgery remains limited. Here we show that a longer time since the last dose of intravenous bisphosphonate is associated with a reduced risk of jawbone necrosis. Using a nationwide retrospective cohort of 152,299 older adults diagnosed with osteoporosis, we analyze the relationship between the duration of bisphosphonate discontinuation prior to dental extraction and the occurrence of osteonecrosis of the jaw. We find that the risk is substantially lower when treatment is paused for more than 90 days, and lowest when the pause exceeds one year. The risk reduction appears more consistent with ibandronate, whereas with zoledronate, only pauses longer than one year show a meaningful association. These findings underscore the potential value of personalized prevention strategies based on bisphosphonate type.

Background: Periodontal disease can activate an immune process linked to systemic diseases, including atrial fibrillation. However, the relationship between periodontal disease and atrial fibrillation remains unclear. Aim: This study aimed to investigate whether changes in periodontal disease status are associated with the risk of atrial fibrillation. Methods: Using the National Health Insurance Database Korea, participants who underwent the first oral health examination in 2003 and a second examination in 2005–2006 without a history of atrial fibrillation were included. Participants were grouped according to changes in periodontal disease status during two oral examinations: periodontal disease-free, periodontal disease-recovered, periodontal disease-developed, and periodontal disease-chronic. The outcome was the incidence of atrial fibrillation. Results: The study included 1,254,515 participants, with a median follow-up of 14.3 years and 25,402 (2.02%) cases of atrial fibrillation occurred. During follow-up, the risk of atrial fibrillation was highest in the periodontal disease-chronic group, followed by the periodontal disease-developed, periodontal disease-recovered, and periodontal disease-free groups (p for trend < 0.001). Moreover, recovery from periodontal disease was associated with a reduced risk of atrial fibrillation compared to a chronic periodontal disease status (Hazard ratio: 0.97, 95% Confidence interval: 0.94—0.99, p = 0.045). The development of periodontal disease was associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation compared to being periodontal disease-free (Hazard ratio: 1.04, 95% Confidence interval: 1.01—1.08, p = 0.035). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that changes in periodontal disease status impact the risk of atrial fibrillation. Management of periodontal disease may help prevent atrial fibrillation.

INTRODUCTION: Periodontitis and other oral health indicators are reportedly related to systemic inflammation. Our study aimed to investigate a possible association of oral health status (periodontitis and number of missing teeth) and oral hygiene behaviors (frequency of tooth brushing, dental visit, and dental scaling) with the risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) incidence. METHODS: Using the Korean National Health Insurance Database, we conducted a nationwide, population-based cohort study involving participants from the 2003 national health screening program. We followed these individuals until December 2020 or the occurrence of censoring events. Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) were defined by disease classification codes from the International Classification of Diseases-10 and national codes for rare intractable disease. The occurrence of IBD was analyzed using the Cox proportional hazard model, with propensity score matching performed to balance baseline characteristics between participants with and without periodontitis. RESULTS: Our analysis involved a total of 2,272,012 participants with a median follow-up period of 17.0 years. The incidence rates for CD and UC were 11.6 and 32.4 per 100,000 person-years, respectively. In multivariable analysis after propensity score matching, the presence of periodontitis was associated with an increased risk of both CD (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.32, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.14–1.52, P < 0.001) and UC (aHR 1.21, 95% CI 1.10–1.32, P < 0.001). Conversely, frequent tooth brushing ≥3 times a day was associated with a reduced risk of CD (aHR 0.81, 95% CI 0.65–0.99, P = 0.049), but no significant association was observed with UC. DISCUSSION: Periodontitis may augment the risk of incidence for CD and UC. This association underscores the potential significance of periodontal health in the context of IBD, emphasizing the importance of comprehensive oral hygiene practices and potential preventive strategies to reduce the risk of CD and UC incidence.