Association of Psychosocial Stress and Periodontal Disease

Stress is found to be a predictive factor of periodontal disease. Among proposed mechanisms that mediate possible association between psychosocial factors and periodontitis status, immunological pathways are of great importance. Depressed immune responsiveness, as a result of physical or mental stress, influences stress-released hormones (gluco corticoids), which are present in the gingival crevicular fluid and may provide a source of nutrients that promote subgingival growth of periodontal pathogens, thus, leading to periodontal destruction. The purpose of this review article is to provide the progression of evidence present in the field of stress and periodontal disease for better understanding of the link.