Methods: A total of 235 adult patients who had LTx during 2000-2006 were included in this study. Medical and dental data were collected from hospital records and jaw x-rays were examined for signs of infections. Data analyzed included type of liver disease, other diseases, alcohol use, smoking and data from oral health status. Prevalence figures and group statistics were calculated.
Results: The mean age of the patients was 48.9 years (15.3-74.1) and 56.2% of patients were men. Metabolic and cardiovascular disorders were common among patients with multiple illnesses (25.1% and 20.9%). Average number of teeth was 23.2 but in diabetic patients, alcohol users and smokers reduced number of teeth was observed (22.7, 21.5, 20.3, respectively). On average 3.3 teeth were extracted; 5.5 in ALCI and 2.5, 3.6 and 3.3 in PSC, PBC and OTCI groups, respectively. The prevalence of dental infectious foci was 26.8% in ALCI, 16.9% in PSC, 15.9% in OTCI and 12.8% in PBC groups. The alcohol cirrhosis patients had had significantly more dental infections than the other patient groups (p<0.04).
Conclusions: All potentially infectious teeth had been extracted according to good clinical practice for immunosuppressed patients. Alcohol use increased the risk for poor dental health. Supported by grants from Finnish Female Dentists' Society and HUCH (T1020Y0011).