Oral health in young adults with long-term, controlled asthma

Abstract

Objectives. The aim of the present investigation was to study oral health in young adults with long-term, controlled asthma. Material and methods. Twenty 18-to 24-year-olds with a mean duration (SD) of asthma disease of 13.5 (5.4) years and 20 matched healthy controls were included. A clinical examination was performed and the prevalence of caries, erosions, gingival inflammation, cervicular fluid, periodontal pockets and plaque formation rate, were registered. The salivary flow rate, numbers of mutans streptococci and lactobacilli in saliva were determined. Plaque pH was measured after a sucrose rinse up to 40 min at two approximal sites. The participants were interviewed regarding dietary and oral hygiene habits. Results. The mean (SD) DFS, including manifest and initial caries, was 8.6 (10.6) in the asthma group and 4.0 (5.2) in the control group (p = 0.09). Initial caries lesions were more common in the asthma group than in the control group, 6.0 (8.1) and 1.3 (2.0 (p = 0.02). The asthma group had more gingivitis (p = 0.01) and lower stimulated salivary rate than the controls (p = 0.01). The asthmatics had also a somewhat, but not statistically significant, lower initial pH value in plaque and more pronounced pH drop compared with the controls. In the asthma group, 65% reported frequent mouthbreathing compared with 10% in the controls (p = 0.01). No differences were found in tooth-brushing and dietary habits between the groups. Conclusions. Young adults with long-term, controlled asthma had more initial caries, more gingival inflammation and lower stimulated salivary secretion rate than individuals without asthma.

Comparative Evaluation of Dental Caries in Asthmatic and Asthma-free Children: A Cross-sectional Study

“…6 In this study, when dental caries status DMF/dmft was assessed based on this asthma severity, a higher percentage of children suffering from moderate persistent asthma had decayed teeth whereas only a few percentage of children in severe persistent asthma category had decayed teeth. Similar findings had been reported by Anandhan et al, 2 Stensson et al), 8 and Anjomshoaa et al 22 The increase in caries prevalence with the severity of asthma may be mainly due to the increase in the dosage and frequency of medication. 20 In this study, it was seen that among the asthmatic children having decayed teeth, the more number of asthmatic children with decayed teeth were affected by using inhaler form of drug followed by combination of syrup and inhaler, syrup.…”

“…7 Worldwide, approximately 300 million people of all ages are affected by the disease. 8 In India, about 15 to 20 million people are suffering from asthma. 9 The treatment of asthma starts with avoidance to stimuli, however, controlling the symptoms with antiasthmatic medicines is the main component of most asthma treatments.…”

Asthma and Oral Health

“…Stensson ve ark. 9 okul öncesi dönemdeki çocukların sağlıklılara göre daha yüksek çürük prevalansına sahip olduğunu bildirmiştir. Ryberg ve ark.…”

“…Literatürde astımın periodontal durumu olumsuz yönde etkileyebileceğini bildiren başka çalışmalar da mevcuttur. 5,9,13,39 Bu araştırmaların aksine, astım ile periodontal hastalık arasına ilişki göstermeyen çalışmalar da bulunmaktadır. 8,10,26 Shulman ve ark.…”

“…7,8 Bugün en etkili tedavinin antienflamatuar medikasyon inhalasyonu (glukokortikosteroidler) ve bronkodilatörlerin (beta-2 agonisti) kullanımı olduğu bildirilmiştir. 9 Astım prevalansı bazı ülkelerde artış göstermektedir. İsveç'te 2 yaş altındaki çocuklarda astım prevalansının %20, okul çağı çocuklarında ise %10 olduğu rapor edilmiştir.…”