The Prevalence and Severity of Dental Caries and Oral Hygiene Status of Asthmatic Children between the Age Group of 6 and 12 Years: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

ABSTRACT Aim To assess the prevalence and severity of dental caries and oral hygiene status of 6 to 12 years old children with bronchial asthma. Materials and methods The study population consisted of 500 children between the age group of 6 and 12 years old, who were diagnosed with bronchial asthma and were under medication. DMFT score was assessed by WHO criteria (1997) and oral hygiene status was assessed by simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S) by Greene and Vermillion (1964). Results The data was collected and analyzed using the SPSS package.15.6% of females had good oral hygiene status when compared to males who almost had 12.6 and 20.8% of children who were in the category of moderate persistent asthma had decayed teeth whereas only 4% of children in severe persistent asthma category had experienced with decayed teeth. Conclusion Moderate persistent group of asthmatic children who were consuming orobronchodilator form of medication are found to have high prevalence of dental caries than dry powder and metered dose inhaler. How to cite this article Anandhan V, Bharathan R, Venkataraghavan K, Reddy NV. The Prevalence and Severity of Dental Caries and Oral Hygiene Status of Asthmatic Children between the Age Group of 6 and 12 Years: A Cross-Sectional Study. World J Dent 2012;3(3):250-254.