Abstract
ABSTRACT Objective: The aim of this study was to assess dental caries and associated factors in children with Down syndrome (DS). Methods: The sample consisted of children between 6 and 12 years old being 67 with DS and 46 without DS. Caries experience and gingival bleeding index were recorded. Questionnaire with socio-demographic questions was applied to children’s caregivers. Crude and adjusted prevalence ratios for caries in primary and permanent teeth were calculated by means of Poisson regression with robust variance. Results: Children with DS and without DS showed similar results for caries experience. Only age was associated with caries at permanent teeth. None of the variables were associated with caries at primary teeth in both groups of children. Conclusion: It can be concluded that social factors and access to dental services analyzed in this study were not associated with dental caries in children with DS syndrome. Furthermore, caries experience for children with DS and those without the syndrome were not different based on this study.
Highlights
Down syndrome (DS) is the most prevalent genetic alteration in the population
The sample comprised 113 children aged 6 to 14 years, with 67 children with DS from Medical Genetics Service of Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre and 46 children without DS from a public primary school in the city of Porto Alegre, RS. This sample was a part of previous study on caries in DS children [15]
The clinical examination was performed by a single well-trained examiner (MJSM) while the subjects were seated in a chair under natural light
Summary
Down syndrome (DS) is the most prevalent genetic alteration in the population. This genetic anomaly affects all ethnicities and socioeconomic levels occurring in approximately 1:600 to 1:1,000 live births [1]. DS is a systemic condition, characterised by musculoskeletal abnormalities, such as a flat nasal bridge, small head, nose, feet, hands, and fingers, and hypotonia; cognitive and neurological disorders, including mental retardation; and cardiac, visual, respiratory, and metabolic changes [2]. The most abundant infections in DS are observed in the mucosal gastrointestinal and respiratory systems [4]. Their prevalence and severity increase with age [5]
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