Poor oral health in Graves’ disease with and without orbitopathy: implications for preventive care
- 1Department of Conservative Dentistry, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 70 Bukowska Street, Poznan, 60-812 Poland
- 2Department of Endocrinology, Metabolic Disorders and Internal Medicine, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 49 Przybyszewskiego Street, Poznan, 60-355 Poland
Abstract
Background: Graves’ disease (GD) is the autoimmune thyroid disorder leading to hyperthyroidism. It may be accompanied by a common extrathyroidal manifestation – Graves’ orbitopathy (GO). This study aimed to assess the oral health status of GD patients with and without orbitopathy.
Methods: This is an observational study with consecutive enrolment. We included patients with GO or GD treated at the Department of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Internal Medicine in Poznan, Poland. The control group consists of age- and gender-matched volunteers. All subjects underwent a physical examination including comprehensive clinical dental examination: an evaluation of dentition status, oral hygiene, as well as periodontal condition, and laboratory assessment Additionally, participants completed a questionnaire regarding their oral hygiene practices.
Results: The GO group (n = 32) demonstrated greater variability in untreated caries and significantly more missing teeth (11 [4–18]) compared with both the GD group (n = 18) (0 [0–1]) and controls (n = 50) (1.5 [0–5]). Restorative treatment was also significantly less frequent in the GO group – the median number of filled teeth was much lower (4 [2–9]) compared with both the GD group (9 [8–11]) and controls (10 [8–13]). Moreover, the Approximal Plaque Index (API) was significantly higher in the GO group (0.59 [0.35–0.89]) compared with both the GD group (0.35 [0.23–0.43]) and controls (0.20 [0.14–0.31]).
Conclusions: GO patients exhibit significantly poorer oral health status compared with both GD patients without orbitopathy and healthy controls. Therefore, targeted preventive and therapeutic strategies should be implemented.
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BibTeX
@article{mlodzikowska2026poor,
title = {{Poor oral health in Graves’ disease with and without orbitopathy: implications for preventive care}},
author = {Martyna Młodzikowska and Nadia Sawicka-Gutaj and Kacper Łaganowski and Jakub Majewski and Aleksandra Derwich-Rudowicz and Marek Ruchała and Kacper Nijakowski},
journal = {Thyroid Research},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1186/s13044-026-00313-7},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s13044-026-00313-7},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Poor oral health in Graves’ disease with and without orbitopathy: implications for preventive care
AU - Martyna Młodzikowska
AU - Nadia Sawicka-Gutaj
AU - Kacper Łaganowski
AU - Jakub Majewski
AU - Aleksandra Derwich-Rudowicz
AU - Marek Ruchała
AU - Kacper Nijakowski
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/07
JO - Thyroid Research
DO - 10.1186/s13044-026-00313-7
UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s13044-026-00313-7
AB - Background: Graves’ disease (GD) is the autoimmune thyroid disorder leading to hyperthyroidism. It may be accompanied by a common extrathyroidal manifestation – Graves’ orbitopathy (GO). This study aimed to assess the oral health status of GD patients with and without orbitopathy. Methods: This is an observational study with consecutive enrolment. We included patients with GO or GD treated at the Department of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Internal Medicine in Poznan, Poland. The control group consists of age- and gender-matched volunteers. All subjects underwent a physical examination including comprehensive clinical dental examination: an evaluation of dentition status, oral hygiene, as well as periodontal condition, and laboratory assessment Additionally, participants completed a questionnaire regarding their oral hygiene practices. Results: The GO group (n = 32) demonstrated greater variability in untreated caries and significantly more missing teeth (11 [4–18]) compared with both the GD group (n = 18) (0 [0–1]) and controls (n = 50) (1.5 [0–5]). Restorative treatment was also significantly less frequent in the GO group – the median number of filled teeth was much lower (4 [2–9]) compared with both the GD group (9 [8–11]) and controls (10 [8–13]). Moreover, the Approximal Plaque Index (API) was significantly higher in the GO group (0.59 [0.35–0.89]) compared with both the GD group (0.35 [0.23–0.43]) and controls (0.20 [0.14–0.31]). Conclusions: GO patients exhibit significantly poorer oral health status compared with both GD patients without orbitopathy and healthy controls. Therefore, targeted preventive and therapeutic strategies should be implemented.
SN - 1756-6614
ER -