inflammatory bowel disease linked to severe Periodontitis

A recent study has revealed that Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and Crohn's Disease (CD) patients have significantly increased odds of severe periodontitis than their controls without  inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The study was published in the 'Journal of Clinical periodontology.'

Ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, and periodontitis are some of the important diseases of the digestive tract. Alteration of the microbiota and the immune conditions may lead to the development of these diseases. As previous studies suggested the association of periodontitis in UC, CD, and IBD, Kristina Bertl et al conducted a study to assess the prevalence of periodontitis in UC and CD patients with matched controls without IBD.

A questionnaire-based, case-control study was performed using a survey having questions on general anamnestic information, IBD diagnosis, and oral health through an online portal. The self-perceived overall health of teeth and gums, severe periodontitis, and tooth loss were defined as outcome parameters.

Results:

• Responses from 1108 IBD patients and 3429 controls were analyzed.
• IBD patients reported significantly worse oral health and more periodontal problems compared to controls.
• Regression analyses corrected for relevant confounders showed for UC and CD patients significantly increased odds for the fair or poor self-perceived overall health of teeth and gums and severe periodontitis compared to controls.
• CD patients presented additionally 91% higher odds of having <20 remaining teeth. 

Thus, the researchers concluded that UC and CD patients have significantly increased odds for worse self-perceived oral health and severe periodontitis compared to controls. And among the two, CD patients were more severely affected and lost more teeth. They also recommended IBD patients be closely observed to mitigate the development and the progression of periodontitis.

For the full article, click here:  https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpe.13615 

Bertl K, Burisch J, Pandis N, Bruckmann C, Klinge B, Stavropoulos A. Periodontitis Prevalence in ulcerative Colitis & Crohn's disease (PPCC) patients: A case-control study [published online ahead of print, 2022 Jul 4]. J Clin Periodontol. 2022;10.1111/jcpe.13615.