Objectives: This work aims to describe oral health conditions, eating habits, and oral hygiene in pediatric and adolescent patients with atopic dermatitis and correlate them with the severity of the Scoring Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD). Also, we aim to estimate the effect of several variables on the diagnosis of dental caries in these patients.
Material and Methods:A total of 92 children and adolescents with atopic dermatitis had their oral cavities examined. The effect of independent variables on the diagnosis of dental caries (outcome) was assessed using multiple binary logistic regression model.
Results:Mild patients presented higher score of decayed, missing, and filled teeth in permanent dentition than moderate patients (p = 0.040). In the multivariable regression final model, the covariates using inhaled corticoid (OR = 6.4; p = 0.003), type of teething [deciduous dentition (OR = 7.9; p = 0.027) and mixed dentition (OR = 10.5; p = 0.007)], and brushing quality [poor mechanical control (OR = 10.6; p < 0.0001)] demonstrated significant direct effect on the diagnosis of dental caries.
Conclusions:Our findings suggest that the presence of dental biofilm, use of inhaled corticoid, and type of teething are related to the presence of caries in atopic dermatitis patients. K E Y W O R D S adolescent, atopic dermatitis, children, mouth, oral health | 1835 SODRÉ et al.
| INTRODUC TI ONPediatric patients with chronic diseases generally have a higher risk for the development of oral commitment, which may be related to the pathological mechanism of the disease itself or even to the implemented therapy (Turkistani et al., 2010). Among the diseases that most affect individuals since early childhood, there are topic disorders, like dental caries and atopic dermatitis (Bagramian et al., 2009;Thomsen, 2015;Williams et al., 2008). Due to its chronic feature, atopic dermatitis (AD) has numerous factors that are complexly interrelated, such as skin barrier dysfunction, genetic predisposition, immunological and environmental abnormalities, in addition to the participation of infectious agents, and psychological, nutritional, and pharmacological factors (Akdis et al., 2006;Nutten, 2015). Furthermore, AD is known to be linked to changes in the skin microbiome (dysbiosis) that is evidenced by the lower bacterial diversity, which is characterized by enrichment of Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis and depletion of Propionobacterium (Bjerre et al., 2017). This colonization by S. aureus demonstrates a relationship with the severity of the disease and consequently susceptibility to infections (Abad et al., 2020;Bjerre et al., 2017). The severity of AD can be classified by SCORAD or the "Scoring atopic dermatitis" index, which is based on the extension and intensity parameters of the lesions and subjective symptoms such as sleep and pruritus (Hanifin & Hajka, 1980). Patients with AD, especially the severe ones, tend to develop comorbidities like atopic conditions such as asthma, allergic rhinitis, and food allergies (NIAI...