Clinical evaluation of the periodontal health condition and oral health awareness in Parkinson's disease patients

Objective and backgroundThe objectives were to compare periodontal status between subjects with and without Parkinson's disease (PKD) to determine the influence of PKD on periodontal disease. This study was conducted to evaluate the relationship of periodontal status with severity of PKD. Materials and methodsThis study was conducted on 45 subjects with PKD (subjects with PKD were divided into 5 groups from group 2 to group 6 according to Hoehn and Yahr stages) and 46 control subjects (group 1). Probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), gingival index (GI), plaque index (PI) and percentage of bleeding sites (%BoP) were evaluated. All subjects were interviewed regarding their practice of oral hygiene and access to professional dental care. ResultsThere were statistically significant differences in PD, CAL, GI, PI and %BoP in subjects with PKD and controls (p<0.001). All the evaluated periodontal clinical parameters and indices deteriorate with increase in severity of PKD. The mean PD value increased from 2.75mm for group 1 to 6.17mm for group 6, and mean CAL value increased from 3.14mm for group 1 to 6.74mm for group 6. The mean GI, PI and %BoP values increased from 0.55, 1.35 and 20.37 to 2.66, 3.80 and 70.86, respectively with increasing severity of PKD. ConclusionThere is a need for dental care and encouragement to use plaque control methods for subjects with PKD as periodontal pathology presented a high prevalence even in the early stages of PKD.