Periodontitis, a prevalent inflammatory disease of the tooth-supporting tissues, remains a significant public health burden20–23 and is epidemiologically associated with rheumatoid arthritis,24–26 which leads to progressive erosion of cartilage and bone in the joints.27 An individual’s susceptibility to periodontitis, arthritis, and chronic diseases in general increases with aging.28–32 We reasoned that CHIP may not merely correlate with aging1,6,7 but may also contribute causally to inflammatory bone loss disorders, such as periodontitis and arthritis. The gene discussed is STUB1; the disease is Arthritis.