Treating gum disease relieves arthritis symptoms.. One of the best weapons against SWOLLEN, ACHING, JOINTS may just be in the Dentists Chair. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, split 40 people with severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) into two groups. One was given a "deep" non-surgical dental cleaning in which bacteria are scraped from the root surface and from under the gum line and tartar is removed from the teeth. The other group got instructions from a dentist about how to keep their teeth clean at home. Within six weeks, the group that had the professional cleaning had significantly less pain and morning stiffness and fewer swollen and painful joints than the group that cleaned their teethat home. Even more impressive, researchers found that the deep cleaning actually decreased levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, which triggers inflammation. "If you get rid of inflammation and infection in the mouth, you subdue it in the joints," says Nabil Bissada, chair of the Department of Perdiodontics, who led the study. If you have RA, but don't have deep pockets under the gum line,Bissada says a regular professional cleaning should suffice. Taken from ARTHRITIS TODAY November/ December 2009