Abstract Several authors have suggested that periodontal disease increases the risk of systemic conditions (cardiovascular or cerebrovascular diseases). Others, also, reported that pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines were implicated in the development of Graft-Versus-Host Disease (GVHD), which is the main complication of patients undergoing allogenic bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Objectives:The present study examined the dental and periodontal condition of patients who underwent BMT; either allogeneic from HLA-matched sibling donors or from HLA-matched unrelated donor (MUD). It was designed to determine if the periodontal status of these patients could predict the incidence of GVHD. Methods:Forty-two dental and medical records of patients who underwent BMT were used. According to the information, the periodontal status of each patient was evaluated by using the Plaque Index (PI), Gingival Index (GI), Russell's Periodontal Index (PI), and radiographic evidence of bone loss. The diagnosis regarding GVHD was made from the data in the medical records. Results:It was demonstrated that there is statistically higher incidence of GVHD in the diseased group (periodontitis) than the control group (healthy gingiva/ gingivitis). Specifically, the incidence of acute GVHD in the diseased group is higher than the incidence in the control group. The Relative Risk (RR) implies that the patients who are included in the diseased group are 2.67 times more likely to develop GVHD than those in the control group. The incidence of GVHD between the two groups (control,diseased) was statistically different in males. However, in females there was no statistical significant difference between the two groups. The results, also, indicated a significant correlation between bone loss and GVHD (a=0.005<0.05). Other factors (patients age, transplant characteristics and gender), which have been recognized as risk factors for developing GVHD, have been also, evaluated. Conclusions:Therefore, based on our findings, we found there is a positive correlation between periodontitis and development of GVHD.

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