High incidence and severity of periodontitis in patients with Marfan syndrome in Japan

Marfan syndrome (MFS) is a systemic connective tissue disorder caused by mutations in the extracellular matrix protein fibrillin-1. While it is known that patients with MFS are at high risk of dental disorders and cardiovascular diseases, little information has been provided to date. To clarify the prevalence of periodontitis in patients with MFS, their oral condition and cardiovascular complications were evaluated. The subjects were patients with MFS (n = 40) who attended the University of Tokyo hospital; age- and gender-matched healthy individuals (n = 14) constituted a control group. Cardiovascular complications and full-mouth clinical measurements, including number of teeth, probing of pocket depth (PD), bleeding on probing (BOP), and community periodontal index (CPI) were recorded. MFS patients had more frequent cardiovascular complications (95 %) compared with the controls (0 %). MFS patients had periodontitis (CPI 3 and 4) more frequently (87.5 %) than the age- and gender-matched control subjects (35.7 %). Furthermore, MFS patients had significantly more severe periodontitis (CPI 2.90 +/- 0.12 vs 1.64 +/- 0.32) and fewer remaining teeth (26.7 +/- 0.4 vs 28.4 +/- 0.4) compared with the controls. However, PD and BOP were comparable between MFS patients and the control group. A high incidence of periodontitis and cardiovascular complications was observed in Japanese MFS patients.