Study Finds Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients Face Oral Health Challenges and Increased Dental Care Costs

SWEDEN: Patients living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which encompasses conditions like Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), experience more oral health problems and bear higher costs for professional dental care compared to healthy individuals, according to the Periodontitis Prevalence in Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn Disease (PPCC) case-control study.

A team of researchers from institutions including the Department of Periodontology at the Faculty of Odontology, University of Malmö, Sweden, and the Copenhagen Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Children, Adolescents, and Adults at Copenhagen University Hospital conducted the study. The research aimed to assess the frequency and impact of oral lesions and dental care costs among IBD patients compared to matched controls.

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Study Methodology

The study involved surveying both IBD patients and their matched control group counterparts. Participants were asked questions related to general anamnestic information, eating and drinking habits, as well as oral health and dental care. 

Additionally, IBD patients were surveyed specifically about oral lesions. The primary outcome parameters for the study were problems related to oral lesions and the amount of money spent on professional dental care over the past 12 months.

Key Findings

The analysis incorporated responses from 1108 IBD patients and 3429 controls. Approximately 30% of IBD patients reported experiencing problems with oral lesions. Notably, CD patients had a 46% higher likelihood of experiencing oral lesions compared to UC patients, often in a generalized form. Moreover, individuals with self-reported severe periodontitis had nearly 2.3 times higher odds of having oral lesions.

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Despite these findings, only about 12.5% of IBD patients reported being informed by their physicians about oral lesions, and merely 10% received treatment for them.

Increased Dental Care Costs

The study also unveiled that IBD patients required dental treatment more frequently and incurred higher dental care expenses compared to controls. Specifically, UC and CD patients had 27% and 89% higher odds, respectively, of spending ≥3000 DKK (approximately 440 USD) at the dentist compared to their healthy counterparts.

Implications and Conclusions

These research outcomes underline the challenges IBD patients face in terms of oral health and increased financial burdens for dental care. The study highlights the prevalence of IBD-related oral lesions but also reveals the insufficient attention given to them by both medical and dental professionals.

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In conclusion, IBD patients’ oral health problems and the associated expenses underscore the importance of integrated healthcare approaches that consider both gastrointestinal and oral health aspects. This research encourages greater awareness and collaboration between medical and dental teams to address the oral health needs of IBD patients effectively.

Read the full article: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease have more oral health problems and higher costs of professional dental care than healthy controls: The Periodontitis Prevalence in ulcerative Colitis and Crohn disease (PPCC) case-control study