OBJECTIVE: To assess the occurrence of oral pathological changes and symptoms in 
patients affected by gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
PATIENTS AND METHODS: 200 patients with GERD and 100 matched healthy controls 
were studied. Thorough visual examination of the dental and oral mucosal tissues 
was performed and medical history relevant to oral symptoms was collected. The 
primary outcome was defined as a statistically significant difference, between 
the study group and controls, in the presence of the following indicators: 
soft/hard palate and uvula erythema, tooth wear, xerostomia, oral acid/burning 
sensation, subjective halitosis and dental sensitivity. Statistical analysis 
included chi-squared test, and crude odds ratio with 95% CI.
RESULTS: Univariate analysis showed that xerostomia, oral acid/burning 
sensation, subjective halitosis, and soft and hard palate mucosa and uvula 
erythema were more common in patients with GERD than matched controls (P < 
0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: This study failed to find any significant association between GERD 
and dental erosions, whereas some symptoms and other objective oral mucosal 
changes were found to be significantly associated with GERD.