Evaluation of periodontal health in patients taking atorvastatin

Periodontal disease as a chronic inflammatory condition is more prevalent in adults. Considering the anti-inflammatory effect of statins and the need to find out the effects of these drugs on the prevention and treatment of periodontal diseases, this study was conducted to investigate the role of atorvastatin in periodontal health. In this cross sectional study the effect of atorvastatin on plaque index, probing pocket depth (PPD), gingival index (GI) and bleeding on probing (BOP) index were examined. Patients with plaque index between 1 and 2 were included in the study, and those who had taken atorvastatin for at least 3 months were selected as the case group and those who had not taken atorvastatin were considered as the control group. A total of 138 patients (50 patients for the atorvastatin group and 88 patients for the control group) were included. The mean probing pocket depth in the atorvastatin group was 2.03 ± 0.35 mm and that in the control group was 2.8 ± 0.31 mm (p = 0.335). The mean bleeding index in the atorvastatin group was 0.20 ± 0.14 and compared to the control group was 0.20 ± 0.17 (p<0.001). The GI index in the atorvastatin group was 1.29 ± 0.33, compared to the control group was 1.20 ± 0.40 (p= 0.218). The results of this study indicate the positive effect of the use of atorvastatin on reducing the bleeding on probing index in patients taking this drug. The probing pocket depth index and gingival index were not significantly different between the atorvastatin group and the group not taking this drug.