Oral Health Status and Salivary Pepsin Levels in Children With Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Surgery: A Postoperative Evaluation

Background: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is characterized by the impact of gastroesophageal reflux on daily life and function, leading to troublesome symptoms and/or complications. This study was designed to evaluate oral and dental health, salivary parameters, and salivary pepsin concentrations in children operated on for GERD and compare them to those of healthy children. Methods: Data were gathered by a questionnaire. Assessment of oral health included evaluation of dental caries, filling and missing tooth status, periodontal health, dental erosion status, and salivary parameters such as salivary flow, pH, buffering capacity, and pepsin levels. Pepsin enzyme concentrations in saliva samples were analyzed by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: The study enrolled 42 children in total, comprising 16 who underwent surgical operations due to GERD with a mean age of 7.19 ± 4.651 years and 26 healthy controls with a mean age of 8 ± 4.186 years. The study group comprised children previously diagnosed with GERD who had undergone surgery, while the control group included medically healthy children without systemic conditions. The mean decayed, missing, filled tooth/surface (dmft/dmfs) indexes of children in the operated for GERD group are statistically significantly lower. In contrast, plaque index and gingival index means are higher than those of healthy children. The salivary pepsin level was found to be 95.219 ± 154.250 pg/mL in the operated for GERD group and 104.923 ± 193.869 pg/mL in the healthy group (P = 0.803). Conclusions: GERD is a significant health problem that may have an impact on oral and dental health status. As oral health status of children may be impaired in children with GERD, pediatric dentists should take part in the multidisciplinary team during the diagnosis, treatment, and control follow-up of these patients.