title: The oral cavity in Crohn's disease.
abstract: We assessed the utility of expert oral examination as a part of the diagnostic evaluation of patients with suspected Crohn's disease. Of 45 patients with newly diagnosed CD, 25 had been examined by a dentist. Twelve (48%) of these had oral CD lesions. Mucosal tags constituted the most frequent form of oral lesion (8/12). Of 8 oral biopsy specimens, 6 (75%) contained non-caseating granulomas. Patients with oral CD had more oral symptoms, presented for diagnosis sooner, and were more likely to have other upper gastrointestinal inflammation than those without oral lesions. Oral manifestations of CD are common in children; therefore, expert oral examination may be useful during diagnostic evaluation of children with suspected inflammatory bowel disease.
authors.affiliation: Children's Research Centre, Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, and Department of Pediatrics, The Conway Institute for Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, University College Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pittock
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Drumm
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fleming
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McDermott
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Imrie
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Flint
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bourke
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001706:Biopsy; D002648:Child; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006099:Granuloma / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009055:Mouth / Q000473:pathology*; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000473:pathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies