Consumption of dental treatment in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, a register study

The aim of this study was to compare the consumption of dental treatment among patients with Crohn´s disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC) compared to age and gender matched control groups.

The study group comprised 2085 patients with CD and 3161 with UC from the Uppsala-Örebro region and from the Stockholm region. The patients in the cohort were diagnosed between 1960 and 1989. Patients up to 70 years of age were included in the study. The two patients groups were compared to age- and gender-matched, randomly selected control groups from the same geographic area comprising a corresponding number of participants.

CD patients had significantly higher total number of procedures registered (p < 0.000). The difference was most pronounced for removable dentures (+65%), fillings in front teeth (+52%) and endodontic treatment (+46%) when Crohn's patients were compared to controls (p<0.001). The corresponding figures for UC patients were also a significantly higher total number of procedures (p < 0.005), more clinical examinations (p<0.000), fillings in canines and incisors (p < 0.001) and fillings in bicuspids and molars (p < 0.000).

This study demonstrate that CD and UC individuals use more dental treatment compared to an age-gender matched control group, and more caries-related treatments. The difference was most pronounced for restorative treatment in patients with Crohn's.