Hospital Visits Associated With Oral Infections in Patients With Neurofibromatosis Type 1: A Register‐Based Analysis

Abstract

Various forms of oral involvement have been reported in patients with neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1). Here, we analyze register‐based associations between NF1 and hospital visits related to oral infections. The Finnish NF1 cohort encompasses all individuals with verified NF1 who have visited the Finnish central and university hospitals in 1987–2011. The Finnish Care Register for Health Care allowed the follow‐up of 1349 individuals with NF1, their 1894 siblings without NF1, and 13,870 matched controls for diagnoses related to oral infections in 1998–2014. We observed clearly increased hazards for hospital visits associated with dental caries (ICD‐10 K02; NF1 vs. controls, hazard ratio [HR] 4.42, 95% CI 3.23–6.04), diseases of pulp and periapical tissues (K04; HR 3.85, 95% CI 2.68–5.54), and gingivitis and periodontal diseases (K05; HR 3.63, 95% CI 2.37–5.56). In contrast, hospital visits related to diseases of salivary glands (K11), and stomatitis and related lesions (K12) did not show significantly increased hazard in NF1 compared with the controls or the non‐NF1 siblings. In conclusion, the findings suggest that hospital visits related to oral infections are relatively common among individuals with NF1. The results highlight the need for early detection, proactive prevention, and timely treatment of oral infections in individuals with NF1.