349 - Caries Risk Assessment of Children with Bronchial Asthma: A Retrospective Study

Purpose: It has been suggested that asthma diagnosis may be associated with increased caries risk among the pediatric population. The present study aims to examine the correlation between dfs score as a caries risk assessment tool for the pediatric population with or without clinical diagnosis of bronchial asthma.

Methods: A retrospective study completed through a chart review process for patient population seen for initial comprehensive examination visit at SIUH dental clinic. The study population includes 4-6-year-old children with diagnosed asthma disease at the time of the initial encounter. The control group consists of healthy children of the same age group. dfs score is recorded as part of the standard comprehensive new patient examination and to be compared between the study and control groups.


Results: Results revealed no significant difference between the caries prevalence in asthmatic and non-asthmatic children 4-6 years old. In addition, the study revealed no association between the use of asthma medications and the prevalence of caries. However, there was a notable difference in the dfs and dft scores among dental hygiene groups.

Conclusions: Current study showed no significant association between asthma and dental caries experience in children 4-6 years of age. Asthma medication could not be linked as a causative agent to caries since dental caries experience was not affected by asthma or asthmatic medication among asthmatic children. There was a notable difference in the dfs and dft scores among dental hygiene groups.