Impact of Bariatric Surgery on the Risk of Adverse Oral Health Outcomes

/ABSTRACT Metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) has become an increasingly common weight loss treatment for severe obesity, but its impact on oral health remains poorly understood. Evidence based research evaluating oral health complications and associated oral healthcare costs following MBS is lacking. Addressing these important clinical gaps, this study proposes to leverage the integration of multiple unique data sources in conjugation with advanced causal inference and machine learning tools to systematically evaluate the comparative effectiveness and treatment costs between MBS and non-MBS surgical oral health management. Using the Utah Bariatric Surgery Registry, 13,713 patients with severe obesity who underwent MBS between 2014 and 2023 have been identified. These surgical records will be linked with the Utah Population Database (UPDB), a comprehensive resource covering over 11 million individuals and connecting 85% of Utah residents to vital statistics, demographic data, claims data, statewide facility databases, and medical records. These linked data will provide statewide follow-up information, enabling the assessment of changes in oral health outcomes and associated healthcare costs among obese patients with and without MBS. Results of these analyses will help inform patients and physicians about potential oral health risks associated with MBS as a treatment option for severe obesity and provide the basis of clinical recommendations on post-surgical oral health care. Project Number: 1R03DE035541-01 | Fiscal Year: 2026 | NIH Institute/Center: National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) | Principal Investigator: Jaewhan Kim (+1 co-PI) | Institution: UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH, SALT LAKE CITY, UT | Award Amount: $323,366 | Activity Code: R03 | Study Section: Special Emphasis Panel[ZRG1 MSOS-M (52)] View on NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11286346