Update on renal disease for the dental practitioner.

of chronic renal disease (CRD). In contrast with patients who have acute renal disease, most patients with CRD progressively and irreversibly lose renal mass and the ability to carry out critical renal functions. If untreated, patients will have life-threatening complications develop. Treatment modalities such as dialysis and renal transplantation greatly reduce the risk of such complications, although patients may have a number of treatment-related complications develop. Oral health care providers will encounter patients with CRD and therefore should update their knowledge about (1) the epidemiology, risk factors, and medical management of CRD, (2) the myriad of complications patients with CRD may experience, and (3) contemporary dental/oral management strategies for patients with CRD. A discussion of renal transplantation has been discussed elsewhere1 and is beyond the scope of this review.