CROHN'S DISEASE: A CASE REPORT

Crohn's disease (CD) is an inflammatory bowel disease characterized by granulomatous inflammation which may affect any site along the gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to anus. Clinically, patients with CD present abdominal pain, diarrhoea, malaise, anorexia, weight loss and fever. Oral manifestations of CD are characterized by specific symptoms such as indurated polypoid tag lesions on vestibular and retromolar fossae, diffuse labial, buccal or gingival swellings, mucosal inflammatory hyperplasia and fissuring, granulomatous cheilitis and nonspesific symptoms such as deep persistent oral ulcerations, perioral edema, cheilitis angularis, glossitis, gingivitis, pyostomatitis vegetans, perioral erythema and mucosal discoloration. Neglection of oral hygiene during the active phases of the disease may also contribute to the high caries incidence. CD patients imply frequent dental check-ups with oral hygiene instructions because of the undesirable oral affects of the disease. This report presents oral manifestations of a thirty-seven years old female CD patient, gives an overview of the oral findings observed in patients with CD and the importance of the disease for dentists are discussed.