Dental Prophylaxis Decreases the Risk of Esophageal Cancer in Males; A Nationwide Population-Based Study

Background: Periodontal disease (PD) is one of the most common chronic inflammatory diseases. Esophageal cancer (EC) is also a common cause of death due to cancer among males. Systemic inflammatory processes have been shown to increase the risk of cancer. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to investigate the association between PD and EC. Methods: A total of 718,409 subjects were recruited from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) and followed from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2010. Of these, 519,831 subjects were diagnosed with PD and were grouped according to the most advanced treatment they received: dental prophylaxis, intensive treatment, or no treatment. The IRs of EC were compared among groups. Results: A total of 682 patients developed EC, resulting in an overall IR of 0.11 case-number per 1000 person-years (%/y). The dental prophylaxis group had a significantly lower IR of EC (0.06%/y) than other groups (p,0.001). Multivariable Co