COMBINED CARIES AND GASTROESOPHAGEAL REFLUX DISEASE.

Area of Science:

• Oral immunology
• Gastroenterology
• Dental pathology

Background:

• Dental caries and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) are prevalent in young adults.
• Oral cavity's immune defense involves non-specific humoral factors.
• Caries complications contribute to gastrointestinal diseases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine local immunity indices in patients with combined dental caries and GERD.
• To investigate the relationship between systemic diseases and dental caries development.

Main Methods:

• Examined 33 patients (18-25 years) with dental caries.
• Group 1: 17 patients with combined caries and GERD.
• Group 2: 16 patients with caries only.
• Conducted dental status assessment, immunological studies (lymphocyte populations, functional activity, immunoglobulins, circulating immune complexes, neutrophil phagocytic activity, cytokine status), and GERD assessment via questionnaires.

Main Results:

• Combined caries and GERD showed spontaneous lymphocyte proliferation (25.8%), increased neutrophil phagocytic activity, higher levels of medium/small molecular circulating immune complexes, and elevated pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α).
• Patients with GERD and caries had increased IgG and significantly lower secretory IgA.
• Higher caries intensity correlated with reduced caries resistance and systemic disease presence.

Conclusions:

• Combined dental caries and GERD induce subclinical immune inflammation in the oral cavity.
• GERD exacerbates caries due to acid damage and alters local immune factors, including reduced secretory IgA.
• Systemic conditions like GERD impact oral health and immune response.