Dental attendance patterns in renal transplant recipients

Renal transplant recipients (RTR) represent a large and growing population of individuals on potent immunosuppressant therapy who are at significantly greater risk of developing lip and oral mucosal disease, including lip cancer. The aims of this study were to determine the proportion of RTR receiving regular dental treatment, the dental services they used, and the relationship between the prevalence of lip and intraoral lesions and dental attendance.

The lip and oral mucosa of 159 RTR and 160 controls were examined. Subjects were asked questions about frequency of dental attendance and which service they used.

57.9% RTR attended a dentist regularly compared with 51.3% controls. Among the RTR who attended a dentist regularly, 54.3% visited their general dental practitioner, and 45.6% attended a dental hospital for treatment. This was significantly different from controls where 92.7% of regular attenders used their general dental practitioner (P < 0.001). Although the prevalence of oral lesions in RTR (54.7%) was more than twice as many as controls (19.4%), no significant difference was observed between RTR regular dental attenders and non-attenders.

This study indicates a clear need for oral health care and screening to be focused on RTR.