Updates on Periodontal Infections and Rheumatoid Arthritis Link

The course focuses on the role of chronic oral/periodontal infections on chronic systemic diseases, with focus on rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and the role of the oral health care team in patients’ education and interdisciplinary management of these patients, including review of recent findings on the association of chronic oral infections and auto-immune arthritis from animal and human studies, the impact of oral microbiota and oral/periodontal chronic infections as risk factors that can aggravate or trigger autoimmune arthritis, the impact of periodontal treatment on RA disease activity, and recommendations for the collaborative management of the patient with oral/systemic chronic diseases by a health care team that includes dentists, dental hygienists, and physicians.

Upon completion of this course, participants should be able to:

•    Understand the association between periodontal and autoimmune diseases
•    Understand the role of oral microbiota as one of the possible triggers in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis
•    Educate their dental patients about the link between oral infections and autoimmune arthritis 
•    Understand the importance of interprofessional management of patients with oral/periodontal infections and autoimmune arthritis

Anastasios Karydis, DDS, MS, PhD is Associate Professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) College of Dentistry, Department of Periodontology and External Professor at the Graduate Program in Biomedical Engineering, at the Herff College of Engineering, University of Memphis, TN. He earned his Dental Degree from the University of Athens, Greece, worked in private practice and served as Flight Sergeant/Dentist at the Hellenic Air Force. He completed his Masters of Science, Periodontal Residency training, and PhD in Oral and Craniofacial Sciences at the University of California San Francisco, and is currently serving as Interim Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs. 

He studies the common pathogenetic mechanisms that link periodontitis with systemic conditions and the role of oral microflora in systemic diseases, with focus on autoimmune arthritis, through his collaboration with the Memphis VA Medical Center and the Division of Connective Tissue Diseases/Rheumatology at the UTHSC College of Medicine. He also collaborates with the Herff College of Engineering Bioengineering Program on guided bone regeneration and local drug-delivery with novel nanofiber chitosan membranes.