Association between Depression and Chronic Periodontitis - a Review

Periodontal diseases are infections associated with specific pathogenic microorganisms and host response alterations. The variations in development and progression of periodontitis between individuals is attributed to non-oral risk factors apart from differences in individual host responses and adaptation. one of the important non-oral risk factors which contributes to the development and progression of periodontal disease are the psychosocial factors. Depression is an important psychosocial domain which has been associated with depression. Recent research findings shows that depression contributes to periodontal disease through two mechanistic links namely biologic and behavioral. These findings have important clinical implications because they suggest that addressing psychological factors like depression forms an integral part in overall preventive periodontal maintenance. This article emphasizes the role of depression in the etiopathogenesis of periodontal disease and the need to use depression scales in periodontal practice.