Periodontal Disease and Overall Health:

The relationship of oral disease to overall disease is certainly no  new concept.  For centuries, the role of oral infection and inflammation in contributing to diseases elsewhere in the body has been studied and reported.  Going back to ancient times in Greece, we learn that Hippocrates treated two patients suffering from joint pain by removal of teeth.  Clearly, this was an early example of oral disease being associated with afflictions elswhere in the body.  Then, moving forward in time from 1912 to around 1950, the era of "focal infection" dominated our thinking.  Reports by individuals such as WD Miller, William Hunter , and Frank Billings noted that in their opinion many of the diseases of humans could be traced to specific foci of infection elswhere in the body,  such as the teeth and gums, then tonsils, or the sinuses.  While these observations were not supported by sound scientific evidence, and in fact led to largely incorrect practices, they nontheless brought attention of the effect of the mouth on the rest of the body.

Association Between Periodontal Diseases and Diabetes Mellitus

A Pervasive Disease Affecting Global Populations

Association Between Periodontal Disease and Atheromatous Diseases

Periodontal Disease and Pregnancy Complications

Oral Health and Diseases of the Respiratory Tract

Periodontal Disease and Osteoporosis

Association Between periodontitis and Rheumatoid Arthritis

Oral Health, Periodontitis , and Cancer

Cardiovascular Disease

Ray C. Williams

Robert J. Genco  Ray C. Williams  ,copyright2010 by the Colgate-Palmolive Company. , Referenced from Periodontal Disease and Overall health A Clinician's Guide 2010 C