Oral Health Management in Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) presents a spectrum of motor and non-motor symptoms that substantially affect oral health. Tremor, rigidity and bradykinesia impede effective tooth brushing and interdental cleaning, while autonomic dysfunction often leads to xerostomia and altered salivary composition. Sialorrhoea, or excessive drooling, compounds hygiene challenges and can give rise to perioral dermatitis and social distress. Concurrently, impaired manual dexterity and cognitive decline increase the risk of caries, periodontal disease and associated systemic inflammation. Effective oral health management in PD thus demands a multidisciplinary approach in which neurologists, dentists and caregivers collaborate to establish tailored preventive regimens. These may include adaptive oral hygiene devices, professional prophylaxis at shortened recall intervals and behavioural strategies to control drooling. Attention to nutritional intake and swallowing function is equally essential, since masticatory impairment and dysphagia exacerbate malnutrition and aspiration risk. Emerging evidence also points to bidirectional interactions between oral microbiota and neuroinflammatory pathways, suggesting that periodontal therapy may influence disease progression. By integrating dental care into the broader management programme for PD, clinicians can preserve oral function, enhance quality of life and potentially modulate neurodegenerative processes.

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Oral Health Management in Parkinson's Disease publication trend

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Technical terms

Periodontitis: Chronic inflammatory disease of the gums and surrounding tooth-supporting tissues caused by bacterial plaque.

Dysbiosis: Disruption of the normal microbial community leading to altered host–microbe interactions.

Sialorrhoea: Excessive drooling due to impaired saliva clearance rather than increased production.

Metaproteogenomics: Integrated analysis of microbial DNA and protein expression to characterise complex communities in biological samples.

References

1. Oral pathogens exacerbate Parkinson’s disease by promoting Th1 cell infiltration in mice. Microbiome (2023).
2. Metaproteogenomic analysis of saliva samples from Parkinson’s disease patients with cognitive impairment. npj Biofilms and Microbiomes (2023).
3. Drooling disrupts the brain functional connectivity network in Parkinson's disease. CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics (2023).