Periodontal disease and systemic diseases: an overview on recent progresses.

Periodontal diseases (PDs) affect about half of the adult population all over the world. PDs are caused by bacterial infection which induces an inflammatory response with progressive destruction of the periodontal tissues and finally the loss of teeth. Tobacco smoking (TS), alcohol consumption, and systemic diseases (SDs), are considered additional risk factors. This short review examines the potential causal association between PDs, TS and SDs. There is strong evidence that PDs are associated with an increased risk of SDs. In addition, many patients with SDs are also affected by PD, which can be mild or severe, and tobacco smokers manifest a greater risk of developing PDs. This paper includes many randomized controlled trials and reviews to test the effects of different periodontal therapies for patients with SDs.