PERIODONTAL INFECTION AS A POTENTIAL RISK FACTOR FOR SYSTEMIC DISEASE

Oral infection can have an adverse effect on other organs of the body. Oral infections, especially periodontitis, may affect the course and pathogenesis of a number of systemic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, pre-term low birth weight infant and respiratory disease. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the current status of oral infection especially periodontitis as a potential risk factor of systemic diseases. Three main pathways linking oral infection to secondary systemic effects have been proposed: metastatic infection, metastatic injury and metastatic inflammation. Periodontitis can cause bacteria to enter the blood stream and activate immune cells. These activated cells produce inflammatory cytokines that have a destructive effect throughout the entire body. Therefore, periodontitis as a major oral infection may affect the host’s susceptibility to systemic disease.