Gastroesophageal reflux disease: New oral findings

Objective. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of ga stroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) on dentition, salivary function, and o ral mucosa. Study design. Thirty-one patients with esophagitis underwent medical evalua tion, which included taking their medical history performing both an esopha gogastroduodenoscopy and esophagus biopsy, and conducting a stomatologic ex amination. The latter consisted of an extraoral and intraoral physical exam ination, saliva tests (flow, buffer capacity, and pH), and biopsy and morph ometry of the palatal mucosa, as well as taking a history of the patients' habits. Fourteen healthy volunteers from the same population were used as a control group. Results. No relationship between GERD and changes in the oral cavity was sh own by saliva tests, oral clinical examination, or histopathologic examinat ion of the palatal mucosa. However, morphometric analysis of the palatal ep ithelium showed a statistically significant difference between the patients with GERD and the control group. Conclusions. GERD is associated with microscopic alterations in the palatal mucosa (epithelial atrophy and increased fibroblast number), which are onl y detected by morphometry.