BACKGROUND: The possible relationship between periodontitis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is now mostly unknown but there are common characteristics in these two diseases. The purpose of this study is to evaluate etanercept (Enbrel r) effects on periodontal conditions of children affected by JIA. METHODS: For this study three group of patients were selected. The first one is represented by JIA subjects in pharmacologic therapy with etanercept (Enbrel r). The second one was composed by subjects in pharmacologic therapy with other drugs and the third one by healthy subjects. Twenty subjects for each group were selected. For each subject two periodontal scores were taken: Plaque Index and bleeding on probing. In order to check the reliability of the method a second registration has been performed in all the 3 groups after one month. A statistic Kruskal-Wallis test was performed. RESULTS: The average Plaque Index was 48% in the first group, 37% in the second group and 20% in the control group. The average Bleeding Index was 5% in the first group, 5% in the second group and 9% in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Etanercept seems to reduce periodontal inflammation in children affected by JIA as the other therapy.