Critical oral diseases in rheumatoid arthritis: knowing, understanding and preventing / Lesões bucais importantes na artrite reumatoide: conhecer, compreender e prevenir

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic multifactorial disease characterized by inflammation of the synovial membranes that line the joints and affect 1% of the world population. This narrative review aims to discuss a highlight mechanisms about the main oral manifestations in patients with rheumatoid arthritis researching epidemiological data. This narrative review was performed by searching the literature on the MEDLINE / PubMed databases for articles in English focused on oral diseases in patients with RA. Scientific studies show that RA patients are at high risk of developing oral changes, for example, periodontal disease (PD), Sjogren's syndrome (SS), xerostomia and temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD). There is a complex interrelation between oral diseases and RA, with sufficient scientific evidence to assure that there is an association that is bidirectional and impacts the pathogenesis and evolution of these conditions. This bidirectional connection with effects on the inflammatory profile of individuals reinforces the need for future clinical studies that confirm the effectiveness of prevention and early diagnosis protocols for rheumatological disease and the main associated oral diseases.