Oral and Salivary Changes in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Abstract Introduction. Kidney disease is associated with many abnormalities in the oral health status as well as with alterations in salivary flow and composition. The aim of this study was to evaluate and to correlate oral clinical findings, salivary flow (SF) and salivary pH values in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) not yet on hemodyalisis treatment, those undergoing hemodialysis and in kidney transplant recipients. Methods. In a cross-sectional study 90 patients were included. The cohort was composed of three groups: 30 patients with CKD (serum creatinine values under 120 μmol/L-group 1), 30 patients with CKD on hemodialysis (group 2) and 30 kidney transplanted patients (group 3). The control group consisted of 20 healthy individuals. Oral symptoms, signs and lesions: salivary volume, salivary pH and SF of stimulated and unstimulated saliva were evaluated. Results. Among patients with CKD without dialysis treatment inverse relationship was found between uremic fetor, unpleasant taste and unstimulated SF and also between xerostomia and stimulated SF. Negative correlation between thirst and unstimulated salivary flow was found in both groups, patients with CKD on dialysis and kidney transplant group. Furthermore, in kidney-transplant patients a negative correlation was found between petechiae and SF, while in group of patients with CKD on hemodialysis the same negative correlation was registered between uremic fetor and stimulated SF. Conclusions. Salivary flow was significantly lower in hemodialysis patients, while the highest was in the kidney-transplant recipients accompanied with improvement in the other oral clinical findings observed in our study.