Oral changes in patients before and after transplantation of solid organs and hematopoietic stem cells

Abstract

Introduction/Objective. The aim of this paper is to point out the prevalence and severity of oral diseases in patients in the period before and after the transplantation of solid organs and hematopoietic stem cells. Methods. MEDLINE literature search was done via PubMed. Results. The development and improvement of transplantation medicine in specialized centers lead to an increasing number of patients, both adults and children, with transplanted solid organs and hematopoietic stem cells. Despite the success of therapy, numerous changes and complications can be observed on other organs in patients undergoing transplantation of solid organs and hematopoietic stem cells in the pre- and post-transplant phase. Systemic diseases and conditions related to organ and cell transplantation, which are accompanied by numerous oral manifestations. The most common oral changes are gingival enlargement, desquamation of the oral epithelium, very painful ulcerations, polypoid and granulomatous changes in the oral mucosa, hard dental tissues with frequent complications, developmental anomalies of teeth in younger children, and in the later stage also the occurrence of oral cancer. After transplantation of solid organs, hematopoietic changes in the oral cavity and other organs occur depending on the patient?s post-transplantation period as well as on the applied immunosuppressive therapy. Conclusion. Oral changes development before and after transplantation of solid organs and hematopoietic stem cells point to the importance of timely and competent cooperation between the dentist and the doctor who treats the underlying disease.