Susceptibility of periodontitis and its impact on patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Abstract

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and periodontitis are chronic, progressive, inflammatory diseases with similarly complex pathogeneses that include dysbiotic microbiota and dysregulated immune-inflammatory responses, and both are influenced by genetic and environmental factors. This review aimed to provide an overview of the emerging evidence dealing with the susceptibility of periodontal disease and its impacts on patients with IBD by explaining the risk factors, possible pathogenic interactions, and disease activity by reviewing recent literature from open-source journals on the same topic. There seems to be an increased prevalence of periodontitis in patients with IBD when compared to healthy controls, which was more pronounced in ulcerative colitis (UC) than Crohn’s disease (CD). In addition, both greater severity and extent of periodontitis have been found in IBD patients when compared to healthy controls. Age, gender, lifestyle or environmental factors, and smoking history were the associated risk factors. In conclusion, the findings suggest that patients with IBD be kept under close surveillance to prevent periodontitis and/or mitigate its progression. Oral health education and effective treatment are required for IBD patients. However, we still need more data derived from human studies to confirm the results. Thus, mechanistic studies are warranted to clarify this possible bidirectional association.