Chronic kidney disease (CKD) may affect oral health, potentially leading to changes that directly increase the risk of dental caries, according to a recent study published in Health Science Reports.
Despite this association, there was no direct association between CKD and pulpal, periapical, or periodontal disease, the authors wrote.
“Our study provides evidence for a direct causal relationship between CKD and dental caries, but not between CKD and other oral diseases,” the authors, led by Guilian Zhang, Department of Stomatology, Beijing Children’s Hospital, China, wrote (Health Sci Rep, May 15, 2025, Vol. 8:5, e70735).
Observational studies have shown that CKD can lead to systemic changes, including oral problems such as dental caries, gingivitis, periodontitis, enamel hypoplasia, and altered salivary flow. Few studies have thoroughly explored the relationship between CKD and oral health, they wrote.
This study employed inverse variance weighted (IVW) random-effects Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis, as well as multiple sensitivity MR analyses, and used summary statistics from genome-wide association studies (GWAS).
Data were collected from the European population in 2021, including 3,902 cases of chronic kidney disease (CKD), 4,170 cases of dental caries, 5,354 cases of endodontic and periapical tissue diseases, and 4,120 cases of gingivitis and periodontal diseases.
Both IVW and weighted median analyses showed a positive causal relationship between CKD and dental caries. In the IVW analysis, the odds ratio (OR) of CKD for dental caries was 1.368 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.124 to 1.664; p = 0.002), indicating a significant association, with a positive association between CKD and dental caries (b = 0.313).
Weighted median analysis also showed that CKD was positively correlated with pulp and periapical tissue diseases, gingival and periodontal tissue diseases, with an OR of 1.292 (95% CI, 1.032-1.616, p=0.025) and a correlation coefficient of b=0.256.
However, the OR values of CKD and pulp and periapical tissue diseases, gingival and periodontal tissue diseases were not statistically significant (p=0.094 and p=0.082, respectively).
However, this study also has limitations. The authors pointed out that pulp disease and periapical disease were classified as one category when GWAS data were collected, resulting in a lack of detailed accuracy.
Professor Zhang and colleagues concluded: “Finding targeted methods will improve the oral health status of CKD patients and the effectiveness of diagnostic and treatment methods in both disciplines.”
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