Oral health in children with asthma

Abstract

Introduction It has been suggested that asthmatic patients may have a higher risk for oral diseases, both as a result of the medical condition and effects of medications. Objective The aim of the study was to determine the oral health status of children with asthma and to evaluate the oral health parameters according to the medications and severity of the disease. Methods The study group consisted of 158 children with asthma and 100 healthy control subjects aged 2-18 years. The diagnosis of dental caries was performed using the Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMFT/dmft) criteria. The oral hygiene, periodontal status and gingival health were assessed with the Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (Greene-Vermillion), Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs and Gingival Index (Loe-Silness), respectively. Results Thirty (19%) patients with asthma and 43 (43%) healthy children were caries-free (p lt 0.001). There were no significant differences between asthmatic and control children in caries experience (for children with asthma mean DMFT=2.1±}1.8, mean dmft=4.2±}3.3; for healthy children mean DMFT=2.5±}0.9, mean dmft=5.2±}1.3). Level of asthma control did not have influence on dental health, while dose of inhaled corticosteroid had impact on primary dentition. Periodontal status and gingival health did not differ between asthmatic and control children. However, children with asthma had poorer oral hygiene (p lt 0.001). Conclusion Results of the study do not show a relationship between asthma and oral diseases. However, further improvement could be made in educating children and parents on the importance of good oral hygiene and prevention of oral diseases.

Uvod Stavovi o oralnom zdravlju dece obolele od astme još nisu usaglašeni, a mogući nepovoljni uticaji lekova koji se koriste u lečenju nisu potpuno definisani. Cilj rada Cilj rada je bio da se utvrdi stanje oralnog zdravlja dece obolele od astme i ispita povezanost primene lekova i stepena kontrole bolesti na pojavu oralnih oboljenja kod ove dece. Metode rada U istraživanje je uključeno 158 dece obolele od astme i 100 zdrave dece uzrasta 2-18 godina kod koje je analizirano stanje oralnog zdravlja. Ispitani su: zastupljenost oboljenja zuba (indeks KEP/kep), stanje gingive (Loe-Silnesov gingivalni indeks), zastupljenost parodontalnih oboljenja (zajednički parodontalni indeks) i nivo oralne higijene (Grin-Vermilionov indeks). Rezultati Tridesetoro dece obolele od astme (19,0%) i 43 zdrave dece (43,0%) imalo je sve zdrave zube (p lt 0,001). Prosečna zastupljenost karijesa kod zdravih ispitanika(prosečna vrednost indeksa KEP bila je 2,5±}0,9, a indeksa kep 5,2±}1,3) i dece obolele od astme (prosečna vrednost indeksa KEP bila je 2,1±}1,8, a indeksa kep 4,2±}3,3) bila je bez značajne razlike. Stepen kontrole astme nije uticao na zdravlje zuba, dok je doza inhalacionih kortikosteroida pokazala uticaj u mlečnoj denticiji. Parodontalni status i zdravlje gingive nisu se razlikovali između dece obolele od astme i zdravih ispitanika. Deca obolela od astme imala su značajno lošiju higijenu usta i zuba (p lt 0,001). Zaključak Rezultati istraživanja ne ukazuju na povezanost astme i oralnih oboljenja kod dece. Loša higijena usta i zuba kod dece obolele od astme ukazuje na potrebu dodatne edukacije i primene posebnih programa prevencije, kako bi se rizici za nastanak ovih oboljenja sveli na najmanju meru.