Orofacial pain and periodontal infections were more frequent in patients with mild AD than in healthy subjects. Orofacial pain screening and dental and oral exams should be routinely performed in AD patients in order to identify pathological conditions that need treatment thus improving quality of life compromised due to dementia.
All groups showed abnormal thresholds of gustation and olfaction; somesthetic findings were discrete in ITN and more common in PHN and BMS; central mechanisms of balance of sensorial inputs might be underlying these observations.
The increased levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in this study suggests their implication in the overlapping mechanisms between oral infections and AD. Longitudinal studies are necessary for further investigation.
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