DOI: 10.21276/aimdr.2017.3.6.DE10 Original Article ISSN (O):2395-2822; ISSN (P):2395-2814 Annals of International Medical and Dental Research, Vol (3), Issue (6) Page 38 Section: Dentistry Name & Address of Corresponding Author Dr. Shubhra Kanodia, Senior Resident, Department of Dentistry, SRMSIMS, Bareilly, U.P, India. Periodontal Disease and Its Bi-Directional Relationship with Systemic Disease: A Survey among Medical Interns and Graduates. Janardhana Amaranath 1 , Swati Mishra 2 , Rohit Gupta 3 , Rahul Srivastav 4 , Pallak Arora 5 , Shubhra Kanodia 6 , Anubala Sharma 7 , Vishal P. Giri 8 1 Professor, Dept of Periodontology, Rama Dental College Hospital & Research Centre, Kanpur, U.P, India. 2 Post Graduate Student, Dept of Periodontology, Rama Dental College Hospital & Research Centre, Kanpur, U.P, India. 3 Reader, Dept of Periodontology, Rama Dental College Hospital & Research Centre, Kanpur, U.P, India. 4 Reader, Department of Oral Medicine & Radiology, Rama Dental College Hospital & Research Centre, Kanpur, U.P, India. 5 Reader, Department of Oral Medicine & Radiology, D J College of Dental Sciences & Research, Modinagar, U.P, India. 6 Senior Resident, Department of Dentistry, SRMSIMS, Bareilly, U.P, India. 7 Junior Resident, Department of Dentistry, SRMSIMS, Bareilly, U.P, India. 8 Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology, SRMSIMS, U.P, India. Received: September 2017 Accepted: September 2017 Copyright: © the author(s), publisher. Annals of International Medical and Dental Research (AIMDR) is an Official Publication of “Society for Health Care & Research Development”. It is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACT Background: To assess the level of awareness on periodontal disease and its bidirectional relationship with systemic diseases among medical interns and graduates. Methods: A Cross sectional survey was conducted among 105 Medical interns and 53 Graduates in a medical college of northern India. Statistical analysis: Descriptive statistical analysis and chi-square test were used. Results: Regarding awareness on the importance of oral health 92% of the participants reported very important and 77.1% of them were aware of periodontal disease but only 6.7% of them were knowing about the bidirectional relationship between periodontal disease and systemic diseases. 94.3% of the participants were agreed for the inclusion of certain dental topics on oral examination and diagnosis in medical curriculum. Conclusion: We conclude that there is an urgent need to include selected dental topics of oral examination and diagnosis in medical curriculum. Keywords: Knowledge; Medical curriculum; Periodontal disease; Systemic disease INTRODUCTION Periodontitis is an infectious disease associated with a small number of predominantly gram– negative microorganisms that exist in a subgingival biofilm. [1] According to World Health Organization (WHO) 10 – 15% of the world populations suffer from severe Periodontitis. In India it is the most common oral infection with a prevalence rate of 55.4% at the age of 12 and 89.2% in the age group of 35-44 years and 79.4% in 65-74 years of age group. [2] Periodontal disease has many stages, ranging from easily treatable gingivitis to irreversible severe Periodontitis. During pathogenesis of the periodontal disease, periodontal pathogens and their toxins such as cytolytic enzymes & lipopolysaccharides have access to the blood stream, a number of inflammatory mediators, including tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin (IL)-β, Prostaglandin E2, interferon-ϒ are produced. These inflammatory mediators stimulate a chronic inflammatory response in the body that lead to breakdown of connective tissue attachment leading to formation of periodontal pocket, alveolar bone resorption, gingival recession, tooth mobility & tooth loss. [3,4] Although pathogenic bacteria are necessary for periodontal disease, they are not sufficient alone to cause the disease, a susceptible host is also imperative. The importance of host susceptibility is clearly evident in the medical literature. Many of the systemic conditions act as a modifier or a risk factor for Periodontitis. Two way relationship of periodontitis and systemic disease such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes mellitus, preterm labour, preeclampsia and respiratory