REVISIÓN BIBLIOGRÁFICA: DISFUNCIÓN ERÉCTIL Y ENFERMEDAD PERIODONTAL

The association between periodontal disease and erectile dysfunction has not been sufficiently studied. However, recent studies have reported a possible link based on mutually shared risks factors between both pathologies, but the association is fundamentally attributed to endothelial dysfunction, phenomenon that is related to both diseases. It has been suggested that chronic periodontal disease can induce systemic inflammatory response that results in deterioration of the physiological and biochemical conditions of the endothelium causing endothelial dysfunction. On the other hand, erectile dysfunction is a multifactorial disease, but the vasculogenic factor is considered as the most frequent one, attributed to a vascular defect (endothelial dysfunction). So, the strongest link is the vascular function alteration, which undoubtedly demonstrates demonstrates a solid argument of association between both diseases. The objective of this literature review is to report the possible mechanisms of association between periodontal disease and erectile dysfunction, focusing mainly on endothelial dysfunction as the main existing link. KEYWORDS: PERIODONTAL DISEASES; PERIODONTITIS; ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION; VASCULAR ENDOTHELIUM.