Periodontal disease is significantly higher in non-smoking treatment-naive rheumatoid arthritis patients: results from a case-control study.

Objective: To find the strength of association between periodontal disease (PD) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in non-smoking, disease modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD)-naive RA patients in a case-control design.

Methods: Patients of RA (DMARD-naive, non-smokers) satisfying the American college of Rheumatology 1987 criteria and healthy controls were included. PD was defined as present if the mean pocket depth (MPD) is ≥3 mm.