Abstract
Nowadays, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is particularly relevant because it concerns many health and social issues. According to international and national statistics, the number of GERD patients is constantly increasing, especially among the socially active segments of the population.
 GERD is one of the most important problems of modern gastroenterology due to the increase in the number of patients with this pathology, the presence of both typical and atypical symptoms significantly impair the quality of patients’ life. Atypical symptoms of GERD may lead to overdiagnosis of some diseases and worsen their course; sometimes patients run the risk of developing serious complications with the need of long-term medical treatment in case of insufficient awareness of physicians about GERD.
 Increased attention should be given to issues of concomitant pathology of the oral cavity and diseases of the esophagus taking into account the anatomical proximity, the commonness of the blood supply, innervation and humoral regulation, because the mouth is the first division of the alimentary canal. Therefore, all GERD-associated changes in the oral cavity can be divided into change in soft tissues (the vermilion border, mucosa, tongue, periodontal tissues) and hard tissues of teeth and a deterioration of the content and quality of oral fluid.
 Our study aimed at examining the prevalence and variation of pathological changes in the oral mucosa of GERD patients.
 We examined 90 patients aged 25–35 years and 45–55 years. Patients were divided into 3 groups of 30 patients in each group: 1 group – patients with diagnosed GERD with high acidity; 2 group – patients with low acidity, 3 group – control.
 The patients have been examined by a gastroenterologist based on generally accepted criteria, esophageal pH monitoring data as well as fibrogastroduodenoscopy of esophagus and stomach. Dental assessment included evaluating the state of oral hygiene (index Green-Vermilion), and oral mucosa condition; the periodontal status was assessed by the index Rassel.
 In conclusion, the findings indicate a variety of changes in oral cavity in patients with GERD, both with high and with low acidity. The prospect of our further research will be to develop an algorithm for diagnosis and treatment of oral GERD manifestations and secondary dental disease prevention.
Highlights
More and more researchers and doctors draw attention to the problem of GERD in regard to its mucosal lesions of the oral cavity have not been studied sufficiently
The dental assessment included considering the state of oral hygiene (Green-Vermilion index) and oral cavity mucosa, as well as evaluation of periodontal tissues condition using Rassel index
When assessing the state of hygiene of the oral cavity, it should be noted that it is generally satisfactory in the main groups of the survey, as seen in table 1, male GERD patients with high acidity aged 25–35 presented with satisfactory condition of oral hygiene according to Green-Vermillion index, while the group of female patients in the same category had poor oral hygiene condition
Summary
We examined 90 patients aged 25 - 35 and 45 55 years. Of these, 30 patients (14 men and 16 women) were diagnosed with GERD with high acidity and 30 patients with low acidity. When assessing the state of hygiene of the oral cavity, it should be noted that it is generally satisfactory in the main groups of the survey, as seen, male GERD patients. With high acidity aged 25–35 presented with satisfactory condition of oral hygiene according to Green-Vermillion index, while the group of female patients in the same category had poor oral hygiene condition. The hygienic condition was satisfactory only in the second group of women with low acidity at the age of 45–55 years. The condition of oral hygiene was satisfactory, both in men and women aged 45–55 years; patients of both sexes between the age of 25–35 years exhibited a good condition of oral hygiene
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