Robert Kucharski ¹ Bartosz Sobocki ² Ewa Stachowska ³ Nikola Bulman ¹ Leszek Kalinowski ¹ Karolina Kaźmierczak-Siedlecka ^1*

• ¹ Department of Medical Laboratory Diagnostics – Fahrenheit Biobank BBMRI.pl, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdańsk, Pomeranian, Poland
• ² Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Pomeranian, Poland
• ³ Department of Human Nutrition and Metabolomics, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland, Szczecin, West Pomeranian, Poland

Ulcerative colitis is a chronic disease which has not well established etiology. The role of microbial dysregulation in its pathogenesis has been recently highlighted. Overall, microbiome alterations concern the reduction of bacterial abundance and diversity resulting in gut microbiome imbalance negatively affecting immunological aspects. There is a link between ulcerative colitis and oral microbiome. The changes of oral microbiome are found in many levels, from gently dysbiotic composition to the presence of the main periodontal microbes. The analysis of oral microbiome can be a part of personalized medicine, due to the fact that it is a potential biomarker. Patients with ulcerative colitis may manifest dental symptoms/problems, such as periodontitis (strongly related to the redcomplex pathogens -Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, Treponema denticola and bacteria belonging to the other complexes, such as Fusobacterium nucleatum and Aggregatibacter actinomycetecomitans), dental caries, oral ulcerations, leukoplakia, halitosis, and others. Notably, DMFT (Decayed, Missing, Filled Teeth) index is higher in these patients comparing to healthy subjects. According to some data, oral lichen planus (which is a disease with immunological background) can also be observed in ulcerative colitis patients. It seems that deep understanding of ulcerative colitis in association with oral microbiome, immunology, and dental manifestations may be crucial to provide complex treatment from dental point of view.