The goal of this project is to assess repeated and ongoing oral care and the way it may affect inflammation and quality of life in hemodialysis patients. Two treatment groups will be compared:

• 1) ongoing and repeated gum disease therapy including deep tooth cleaning followed by multiple appointments of maintenance
• 2) single session of gum disease therapy with only one session of deep tooth cleaning Samples of blood will be obtained for study to examine the changes of inflammatory substances in the blood as a result of the two different gum disease treatments. Also, a 14-question survey will be discussed with you to assess oral health related quality of life (OHIP-14) and the way it is affected by oral care.

For this project, four dialysis centers will be randomly assigned to either of the treatment groups #1 or #2 prior to your enrollment. For this purpose, there are two distinct consent forms explaining the visits, procedures and risks of the two treatment groups #1 or #2. As a result, all participants in the same dialysis center will belong to the same treatment group (either #1 or #2) and presented with the corresponding consent form.

This dialysis center has been randomized to treatment group # 1; therefore you will receive ongoing and repeated gum disease therapy including deep tooth cleaning followed by multiple appointments of maintenance.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patient must be referred by nephrologist
• Patient must be diagnosed with ESRD and on Hemodialysis
• life expectancy more than one year
• at least 21 years of age
• 12 or more teeth
• must meet the Periodontal diagnosis criteria (The diagnosis of periodontitis is based on the definition of moderate periodontitis with at least 2 sites with CAL≥4mm or at least 2 sites with PD≥5mm not on the same tooth (Page and Eke 2007).)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Anticipating a kidney transplant
• AIDS
• Active malignancy
• Poor adherence to hemodialysis
• Dementia
• Currently prescribed anti-inflammatory medication
• Temporary catheter for dialysis access
• Gum disease treatment within the last year

Once the study is completed, the data will be available without cost to researchers. As part of the registration process, users must agree to the conditions of use governing access to the public release data (e.g., data destruction after analyses are complete, proper acknowledgement of data resources). Data will be provided at no cost and all data will be de-identified prior to sharing.

The data will available after the completion of the study

As part of the registration process, users must agree to the conditions of use governing access to the public release data (e.g., data destruction after analyses are complete, proper acknowledgement of data resources). Data will be provided at no cost and all data will be de-identified prior to sharing.