Nephrology, Urology and Kidney Transplantation

Introduction: Worldwide, there is an increase in number of people suffering from chronic kidney disease (CKD). CKD can give rise to a wide spectrum of oral manifestations, affecting the hard or soft tissues of the mouth, which affect the quality of life adversely. Research has also shown that high titers of antibodies against bacteria, which are found in increased amount due to oral diseases like periodontitis, are associated with an increased risk of reduced renal function. 

 

Methodology: Two study groups of total 150 patients were made. Group A had 75 patients which were admitted with complain of chronic kidney failure. Group B had the same number of subjects with severe generalized Periodontitis recruited from Dental OPD. Patients aged 30-70 years old of no specific gender were part of the study. Patients on medications or treatments for any other condition or any hereditary disease that could provide false positive results were excluded. Periodontal parameters were evaluated prior to and 4 months after delivery of standard non-surgical periodontal therapy and proper oral hygiene instruction to all patients and improvements were noted.

 

Results: For group A: 80% of the patients who previously had CKD also had periodontitis; whereas 20% did not. After 4 month trial, 73.33% of the patients who had CKD and periodontitis improved while the rest showed no improvement. For group B: 69.33% of the patients who had periodontitis had CKD, 18.66% had early signs of renal disease, and the rest had normal renal status. After intervention trial, 74.24% of the patients showed improvement in their renal status. 

 

Conclusion: This type of study is the first in Pakistan to measure the relation of non-surgical therapy for periodontitis resulting in improvement in renal status and their bi-directional link. Patients with CKD have higher prevalence of periodontal disease while non-surgical periodontal therapy has been indicated to decrease the systemic inflammatory burden in patients with CKD. Patients with periodontitis may be at an increased risk for development of CKD. Identification of such patients may help in early diagnosis of the disease.