Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory joint disease that affects more than 380,000 people in France. This pathology (which affects twice as many women as men, and which tends to occur around the age of 45) evolves in flare-ups: during the “crises”, the patients suffer in particular from intense joint pain – especially in the hands , fingers and/or wrists.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease: in short, the patient’s immune system develops auto-antibodies that gradually destroy their joint tissues. However, environmental risk factors have been identified over the course of the studies: smoking, for example.
Watch out for periodontitis if you have rheumatoid arthritis
Moreover, according to Inserm, certain infectious agents could play a role in the development and evolution of rheumatoid arthritis, without any study having (to date) validated this hypothesis 100%.
Precisely: a new study, carried out by Rice University (in the United States), points to a possible link between certain bacteria involved in the development of periodontitis and flare-ups of rheumatoid arthritis. In detail, the American researchers found that, shortly before a “crisis”, microbes linked to gum disease could be observed in the blood of the patients studied.
So that’s a (new) good reason to take care of your teeth and gums if you have rheumatoid arthritis. To avoid the development of periodontitis, the best thing is still to adopt an impeccable oral hygiene (with 3 brushings of teeth per day), to avoid cigarettes at all costs and to consult your dental surgeon regularly.
Source : Science Translational Medicine
