Those who suffer from diseases of the mouth and are ill with cirrhosis can suffer from greater complications of liver disease and higher mortality.
This is demonstrated by a clinical study conducted by Aarhus University that was published in the scientific journal Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
The study included 184 patients with cirrhosis who were followed up for two years.
At the beginning of the research, 26% of them had florid caries, 46% periapical lesions, 27% oral mucosal lesions and 68% periodontitis.
The presence of multiple oral diseases at the same time was linked to a higher incidence of complications of cirrhosis (46.7% compared to a control group of 20.5%, with a higher prevalence of ascites, hepatic encephalopathies and variceal bleeding), and a higher value of C-reactive protein (sign of an ongoing bacterial or viral infection).
Furthermore, 2/3 of the patients died during the observation period.
"This is a prospective study - says Dr. Nicola Marco Sforza - elected president of the Italian Society of Periodontology and Implantology (SIdP) - in which, unlike other previous studies on the possible correlations between cirrhosis and oral health, in addition to ascertaining the diagnosis of overt liver cirrhosis performed by the specialist, preliminary and detailed assessments were made of the periodontal diagnosis and the presence of oral diseases (caries, periapical lesions, mucositis, periodontitis) by a periodontist, assisted by 3 dental hygienists 'calibrated' for the collection of clinical data ".
"These aspects of methodological rigor of the research", continues Sforza, "combined with the length of the follow-up period (2 years), make the results of the study particularly interesting, showing a correlation between oral diseases and complications, including serious ones, of the liver cirrhosis "". "However, it is necessary to underline how the design of this study and its results do not allow us to conclude that the presence of more oral diseases is the cause of a higher incidence of complications of cirrhosis as well as a higher mortality of patients - concludes Sforza - Therefore, further clinical studies are needed, with different materials and methods, in order to clarify a possible causal link in this clinical correlation.
