Sjögren Syndrome and Periodontal Disease: State of the Art and Narrative Review of Current Literature

Abstract

Purpose of Review and Recent Findings: Sjögren syndrome (SS) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by exocrine gland dysfunction: xerostomia and xerophthalmia are the main symptoms. The reduction of salivary flow rate causes a dysbiosis of oral environment that may increase the risk of periodontal disease. The purpose of this narrative review was to analyze the current evidence of scientific literature on the relationship between periodontal disease and the Sjögren syndrome. Material and Methods: A search on MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Web of Science databases was conducted to find all pertinent articles published. The searches were confined to full-text articles with no restriction of language or publication date. The selected studies and relevant articles were checked for cross-references. The remaining articles were evaluated by reading the full text independently. Results: In total, 21 studies were included in the present literature review (8 previous reviews, 2 systematic reviews, 11 in vivo clinical studies). Some of these studies claimed a strong association between SS and increased risk of periodontal disease; furthermore, periodontal treatment seems to improve SS oral symptoms. Pilocarpine and other systemic drugs for SS increase SFR, by modifying oral microbiome of SS patients, versus normal. Summary and Conclusions: A high level of evidence on the effects of SS on periodontal disease is missing; at present, there is not a state of the art on relationship between SS and incidence of periodontal disease.