Oral health presentations and considerations in gastrointestinal diseases

Abstract

Lesions of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) run the gamut from the merely annoying heartburn that has affected many a partakers of a large and spicy meal to the highly lethal cancers. Distressing to the physician is that all disorders of the esophagus tend to produce similar symptoms, namely heartburn, dysphagia, pain, and/or hematemesis. The GIT plays a prominent part in the immune system. The pH (ranging from 1 to 4) of the stomach is acidic which proves fatal for a number of microbes which pass through it. Also, mucus in the stomach (containing IgA antibodies) and enzymes present in the saliva and bile neutralize many of these microorganisms. Lesions of the GIT also present with oral symptoms, which is of significance for an oral physician to recognize and treat them.

Keywords

• Crohn′s disease
• oral manifestations
• ulcerative colitis