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SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., USA: Although previous medical research has shown that periodontal disease can affect major organs such as the heart, only a few studies have examined the link between gum infection and kidney disease.

Now, U.S. researchers are about to begin a study to track the progression of kidney disease in patients receiving treatment for periodontal disease.

Patients included in the study will have both periodontal and kidney disease.

Two-thirds will receive immediate and follow-up periodontal care, and the remainder will receive the dental care only if it is medically necessary.

The patients' kidney function will be measured by analyzing biomarkers associated with kidney damage in blood and urine.

The researchers plan to follow the patients for one year as a pilot study.

"If we at least start to show that treating periodontal disease can slow the progression of kidney disease, the long-term ramifications for dental policy and how we manage patients with chronic kidney disease would be huge," said Dr. Vanessa Grubbs, assistant professor at the School of Medicine of the University of California, San Francisco, who is leading the study.

As both diseases affect poorer populations, for example, funding dental care for people at all income levels may help prevent kidney disease.

"It is certainly cheaper to pay for preventive dental care than dialysis," Grubbs emphasized.