Fig. 2
From: Oral soft tissue disorders are associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease: retrospective study
Oral symptoms in the GERD patients. The oral symptoms observed in the GERD patients were DE and OSTDs, which included gingivitis and inflammatory oral mucosal regions. Salivary flow volume and swallowing function were significantly reduced in the GERD patients. OSTDs were induced by damage from gastric acid reflux, similar to DE. The saliva prevents the oral infection by antimicrobial action, cleansing and maintaining mucosal integrity. Therefore, OSTDs were also induced by reduced salivary flow volume. Furthermore, the GERD patients showed a significantly higher frequency of bruxism than the controls; therefore, gingivitis in some GERD patients may be accelerated by bruxism. The bruxism can also be co-cause of inflammatory oral mucosal regions