For some time it has been recognised that in the interests of an holistic approach to patient care, oral health must be considered as a critical issue for general well-being. With light of this, the field of periodontal medicine has emerged as an important branch of periodontology focusing on the relationships between periodontal and systemic diseases.

Since periodontal medicine first emerged, remarkable advances have been made in understanding how periodontal infection and inflammation can impact on systemic well-being. However, the list of "associations" has now burgeoned to unwieldy proportions and it is proposed that a “disease association checklist” must be used to allow rational assessment of current disease associations and distinguish which of the associations are spurious and which are valid. 

In this presentation, an overview of the current status of the periodontal systemic interrelationships together with how periodontal treatment might impact on some systemic conditions will be covered.

Learning outcomes:
Periodontal inflammation impacts significantly on systemic health
The effects of periodontal inflammation on general health
How to use a “disease association checklist" to distinguish which of the associations are spurious and which are valid
How a reduction of periodontal inflammation can impact on some systemic disease
Understand “causality” in the context of periodontal/systemic interrelationships