Effects of periodontal therapy on serum lipid profile and proinflammatory cytokines in patients with hyperlipidemia: a randomized controlled trial

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether periodontal treatment in patients with periodontitis and hyperlipidemia may have any influence on plasma lipids and pro-inflammatory cytokine levels. We randomly assigned 109 patients with hyperlipidemia and chronic periodontitis into group 1 (n = 55) and group 2 (n = 54). Patients in group 1 underwent a standard cycle of supragingival mechanical scaling and polishing. Patients in group 2 underwent the adjunctive full-mouth intensive removal of subgingival dental plaque biofilms with the use of scaling and root planning. Periodontal parameters, total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TRG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin(IL)-1 beta(IL-1 beta), and IL-6 were evaluated before treatment and 2 and 6 months after treatment. Two and 6 months after treatment, TRG levels were significantly lower in group 2 than in group 1 (P < 0.05), and the levels of HDL-C were significantly higher (P < 0.05). Two and 6 months after therapy, the levels of TNF-alpha were significantly lower in group 2 than in group 1 (P < 0.05), as were the levels of IL-1 beta (P < 0.001) and IL-6 (P < 0.001). Intensive periodontal treatment of participants with hyperlipidemia and chronic periodontitis improved serum lipid levels and decreased circulating pro-inflammatory cytokine levels. This study showed that intensive treatment of periodontitis results in an improvement in serum lipid levels and a decrease in serum proinflammatory cytokine levels in patients with periodontitis and hyperlipidemia. These findings may contribute to present knowledge that periodontal therapy may be beneficial for individuals with hyperlipidemia.