Oral health and related factors in cystic fibrosis

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Subject: Oral health and related factors in cystic fibrosis and other

chronic respiratory disorders

Archives of Disease in Childhood 2003;88:702-707

© 2003 BMJ Publishing Group & Royal College of Paediatrics and Child

Health

Oral health and related factors in cystic fibrosis and other chronic

respiratory disorders

A Narang1, A Maguire2, J H Nunn3 and A Bush4 1 Medical School, University

of Newcastle upon Tyne

2 School of Dental Science, University of Newcastle upon Tyne

3 School of Dental Science, Trinity College Dublin

4 Department of Paediatric Respiratory Medicine, Royal Brompton Hospital,

London Correspondence to:

Dr A Narang;

asheilanarang@...: To compare the prevalence of dental caries,

dental calculus, and enamel defects in children with cystic fibrosis (CF)

and children with other chronic respiratory disorders. Methods: A cross

sectional observational survey. One examiner (AN) undertook oral

examinations to assess dental caries, periodontal health, and enamel

defects in children attending respiratory outpatient clinics. Results: A

total of 74 patients with CF (35 male; mean age 10.7 years, range

2.5-16.5) were compared with a control group of 106 patients with other

chronic respiratory disorders (52 male; mean age 9.1 years, range

3.0-16.5). There were significantly more defects of enamel in the

permanent teeth of CF patients, compared with the teeth of those children

with other chronic respiratory disorders. In addition, non-significant

trends towards a lower caries prevalence in both dentitions, increased

numbers of sextants with calculus deposits, and a reduced number of

healthy gingival sextants were observed in the patients with cystic

fibrosis. Conclusions: Enamel defects, particularly enamel opacities,

which can be disfiguring, are more common in CF patients. Early, regular

dental visits may prevent such defects becoming dentally disabling and

would also permit the removal of dental calculus deposits. The use of

long term antibiotics and pancreatic enzymes may confer some protection

against the development and progression of dental caries in patients with

cystic fibrosis. The inclusion of a specialist paediatric dentist, as

part of the multiprofessional team managing the care of these children,

would be an advantage. Keywords: cystic fibrosis; oral health; dental

caries; enamel defects