Different Oral and Orolabial Appearances in Groups of Children with Down Syndrome in Babylon City-Iraq

Abstract

Down syndrome (DS) is one of the important genetic or chromosomal defects involving different organs; one of these organs is orofacial apparatus. The aim of the study was to determine the incidence of lip and oral soft lesions among groups of children with DS in Babylon-city in Iraq. Fifty (50) children with DS, and these subjects were matched with same ages, genders with others healthy schoolchildren as controls. This study was applied from January to July 2017 in Babylon centers for disabled children/Babylon-Iraq, between the ages 4–17 years old. Three types of orofacial lesions were appeared in the DS, most of them were fissured tongue 43 (78.1%), lip fissures 35 (63.6%), and angular cheilitis 21 (38.1%), and these results compared with healthy controls. The presence of the above orofacial lesions in healthy controls were: fissured tongue 16 (25.4%), lip fissures 0 (0%), and angular cheilitis 1 (1.8%). The majority of DS children were associated with fissured tongue (in the midline), and the presence of lip fissures in both upper and lower lips. There was correlation between the presence of different types of lip lesions, fissures and angular cheilitis (p-value= 0.001). To the best of our knowledge this is the first study in Iraq that deals with oral and orolabial lesions in DS subjects. The orolabial lesions among DS subjects are remarkably high. Oral medicine or oral physician specialists should be aware of the orolabial features seen more frequently in this chromosomal abnormality.