Avaliação anamnésica de sintomas de disfunçâo temporomandibular em crianças asmáticas

Abstract

Mechanical respiratory dysfunction in asthmatic children, contributing to overuse the secondary respiratory muscles related to cervical spine and allergic sinunasal alterations, leading to development of mouth breathing (MB), might induce craniocervical disorders and predispose asthmatic patients to Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD). The purpose of this study was to assess the presence and features of TMD symptoms in asthmatic children by using the Fonseca anamnestic index (1994). The sample consisted of 30 asthmatic children (7.97± 2.58 years old) who were submitted to TMD evaluation by the use of Fonseca index, and were classified as mouth-breathing children in accordance to Emerson and Cordeiro (1993). Statistical analysis was performed using Chi-square test and Z-test (Mann Whitney U-test, p£0,05). Results show that more than 93% of the patients presented TMD symptoms and a great number of patients were classified as showing mild TMD. Temporomandibular joint pain as well as difficulty during mouth opening were significantly more frequently in asthmatic girls than in boys. Mouth breathing was observed in 90% of the patients and M B degree was proportional to TMD severity. Such results suggest that asthma features, like mechanical respiratory dysfunction and mouth breathing, could be related to the development of TMD symptoms in asthmatic children. Hence a TMD evaluation must be part of the physical therapy program designed for asthmatic children.