Oral Hygiene and the Gastrointestinal System; a Literature Review

Periodontal disease is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting the periodontium and is considered to be one of the most common conditions affecting oral hygiene. Poor oral hygiene has recently been associated with numerous systemic illnesses such as diabetes mellitus, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic kidney disease and coronary artery disease. There is limited data exploring the effects of poor oral hygiene on the gastrointestinal system. Literature search was performed using the Medline database, 2 authors performed the search independently. Search terms used were “oral hygiene†or “periodontal†or “periodontitis†or “gingivitis†and “gastrointestinal†, “esophagus†, “stomach†, “liver†, “intestine†, “intestines†, “inflammatory bowel disease†, “bowel†, “colon†, “gall bladder†, “gallstone†, “pancreas†. In this literature review, we explore the association between poor oral hygiene and the various organs of the gastrointestinal system including the esophagus, stomach, liver, bowel, pancreas and gallbladder.