Association between periodontal diseases and systemic diseases.

Current evidence suggests that periodontal disease may be associated with systemic diseases. This paper reviewed the published data about the relationship between periodontal disease and cardiovascular diseases, adverse pregnancy outcomes, diabetes and respiratory diseases, focusing on studies conducted in the Brazilian population. Only a few studies were found in the literature focusing on Brazilians (3 concerning cardiovascular disease, 7 about pregnancy outcomes, 9 about diabetes and one regarding pneumonia). Although the majority of them observed an association between periodontitis and systemic conditions, a causal relationship still needs to be demonstrated. Further studies, particularly interventional well-designed investigations, with larger sample sizes, need to be conducted in Brazilian populations.