Dental caries in children with asthma undergoing treatment with short-acting 2-agonists

Authors:

ABSTRACT

Aim

This study sought to evaluate possible higher risk for dental caries among asthmatic children undergoing treatment with
short-acting 2-agonists.

Methods

Dental clinical assessments, saliva analysis and a questionnaire survey were carried out on
60 children aged 6-12, of whom 30 were asthmatic subjects undergoing treatment with short-acting 2-agonists and 30 were used
as controls. The obtained data for DMFT/dmft scores, Silness-Le plaque index, buffer capacity and bacteria counts for
Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus in the saliva, oral hygiene and dietary habits were compared using Student t-test and Pearson
chi-square test.

Results

We registered a higher DMFT score among asthmatics of 1.21.8 (SD) and 0.3 0.8
among non-asthmatic patients (p<0.05), while comparison of dmft scores between the examined groups showed not significant (Student t-test). Saliva analysis revealed lower buffer capacity in 43.3 of the asthmatic children, followed by higher cariogenic bacteria counts in their saliva (p<0.05 Student t-test). These results show the lower plaque index in the asthmatic group (1.6 0.4) compared with the control (2.1 0.3). Asthmatic children expressed better oral-health habits with more frequent tooth- brushing and usage of fluorides.

Conclusion

The results from our study suggest a higher caries-susceptibility among asthmatic
children undergoing treatment with short-acting 2-agonists, but a clear association between these drugs, salivary changes and
dental caries among children, still remains to be demonstrated.

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