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Introduction: Liver diseases are very common, and the main underlying causes are viral infections, alcohol abuse
and lipid and carbohydrate metabolic disorders. The liver has a broad range of functions in maintaining homeostasis
and health, and moreover metabolizes many drug substances. Objective: An update is provided on the oral
manifestations seen in patients with viral hepatitis, alcoholic and non-alcoholic liver disease, cirrhosis and hepatocellular
carcinoma, and on the dental management of such patients. Material and methods: A Medline-PubMed
search was conducted of the literature over the last 15 years using the keywords: “hepatitis”, “alcoholic hepatitis”,
“fatty liver”, “cirrhosis” and “hepatocellular carcinoma”. A total of 28 articles were reviewed, comprising 20 literature
reviews, a clinical guide, three clinical trials and four case series. Results: Oral clinical manifestations can
be observed reflecting liver dysfunction, such as bleeding disorders, jaundice, foetor hepaticus, cheilitis, smooth
tongue, xerostomia, bruxism and crusted perioral rash. In the case of infection caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV),
the most frequent extrahepatic manifestations mostly affect the oral region in the form of lichen planus, xerostomia,
Sjögren’s syndrome and sialadenitis. The main complications of the patient with liver disease are risk of contagion
(for healthcare personnel and other patients), the risk of bleeding and the risk of toxicity due to alteration of the
metabolism of certain drugs
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