Caries experience, periodontal treatment needs, salivary pH, and Streptococcus mutans counts in a preadolescent Down syndrome population

Abstract

The prevalence of dental caries and periodontal treatment needs in an institutionalized population with Down syndrome was examined and the relationship between caries prevalence, salivary pH, and salivary levels of Streptococcus mutans was studied. Thirty-two children with Down syndrome, aged 8 to 13, were compared with two control groups of similar age ranges: healthy children and non-Down mentally retarded (MR) children living in the same institution as the Down syndrome population. The gender ratio mixtures in each group also matched the study sample. Caries experience as indicated by decayed, missing, and filled surfaces (DMF-S) showed significantly lower mean scores for the Down syndrome group compared with both control groups. A similar pattern was found when evaluating the mean numbers of decayed surfaces. Streptococcus mutans counts, expressed as number of colony-forming units on mitis salivarius agar plates among the Down syndrome group, were the lowest, although not statistically significant compared with the counts of the healthy children. Both groups had bacterial counts which were significantly lower than those of the MR group. Significant differences between the two institutionalized groups and the healthy group were recorded for the salivary pH levels. The periodontal treatment needs as evaluated by the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs showed significant difference between the MR group versus both the healthy population and the Down syndrome group. On the whole, 84% of the Down syndrome children were cariesfree.

Dental caries experience in relation to salivary findings and molecular identification of S. mutans and S. sobrinus in subjects with Down syndrome

“…Various studies have demonstrated a correlation between high prevalence of caries and the presence of mutans in the oral cavity of individuals with this syndrome [5,6,8]. Although more than half (60.0%) of the participants in this study showed an elevated number of CFU/mL for mutans streptococci, this finding did not appear to influence the caries index of the individuals in question, since there was no correlation between the number of colonies and the caries index observed.…”

“…Various investigations have pointed to the existence of variations in the ecosystem of the oral cavity among individuals with Down syndrome, which can lead to physiological alterations in the flow and composition of saliva that are important in the microbial colonization of tooth surfaces by such species as S. mutans and S. sobrinus, interfering directly with the initiation of pathological processes such as dental caries [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15].…”

Significance of oral health in persons with Down syndrome: a literature review

“…Various studies have shown that caries incidence is reduced in children and young adults with DS (84% caries free 80 ) in comparison with healthy subjects or controls with mental retardation [80][81][82] , although differences may reduce in the permanent dentition 83 . An extensive search of the literature failed to reveal caries data for the adult population over 30 years of age.…”

Etiologic factors of early-onset periodontal disease in Down syndrome

“…It is noteworthy that more recent studies [13,14,20,21] have found that the severity of periodontal disease in individuals with Down syndrome is now milder as compared with that described in older studies [2,[22][23][24]. This fact is likely attributable to better dental care for these individuals, both at home and the dental office, as compared with the past.…”