Prevalence of developmental defects of enamel in children and adolescents with asthma: A cross-sectional study.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of developmental defects of enamel in children with asthma and its relation to specific characteristics of disease such as symptom onset, asthma severity and treatment initiation in pediatric asthma patients. Materials and Methods: Children and adolescents (104 asthma patients and 104 control subjects), 7-14 years of age and residents of the city of Chennai were enrolled in the study. Medical and dental histories were obtained through the use of structured questionnaire. Each participant underwent a dental examination in which the examiner applied the modified developmental defect index. Results: The prevalence of DDE in this study was as follows: of the 104 asthma group subjects, 80 (76.9%) presented with dental enamel defects, compared with only 28 (26.9%) of those in the control group. Using multivariate logistic regression analysis, the estimated risk of DDE in permanent dentition was 12 times higher in pediatric subjects with asthma than in those without asthma (OR - 12.526, P = 0.001). The occurrence of dental enamel defects correlated with greater asthma severity (P = 0.001) and earlier symptom onset (P = 0.001). However, dental enamel defects did not correlate with the timing of the initiation of treatment (P = 0.041). Conclusion: Pediatric asthma patients with severe, early onset asthma are at increased risk of dental enamel defects and therefore require priority dental care.

Prevalencia de fluorosis dental, opacidades e hipoplasia del esmalte en niños en edad escolar / Prevalence of dental fluorosis, opacities and enamel hypoplasia in schoolchildren

Determinar la frecuencia de fluorosis dental y anomalías en el desarrollo del esmalte: opacidades e hipoplasia del esmalte, en niños en edad escolar entre 6 y 14 años de la Escuela Básica "Fray Juan Ramos de Lora", del estado Mérida, Venezuela. Se realizó un estudio descriptivo transversal. La población estuvo constituida por 92 niños entre 6 y 14 años de edad, de la Escuela Básica "Fray Juan Ramos de Lora", del estado Mérida, Venezuela. Se tomaron en cuenta las variables fluorosis dental, opacidades e hipoplasia del esmalte, aplicando los índices según la metodología descrita por la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) y la Encuesta Básica de Salud Bucodental. El 75% de los participantes no presentaron fluorosis dental, en contraste con un 1,1% que presentó fluorosis severa. El 70,7% de la población no presentó anomalías en el desarrollo del esmalte, en contraste con un 16,3% y 13,1% que presentó opacidades delimitadas y difusas respectivamente. Se evidencia que el mayor porcentaje de la población estudiada no presenta fluorosis dental ni alteraciones en el desarrollo del esmalte

To determine the frequency of dental fluorosis and developmental defects of enamel: opacities and hypoplasia in 6-14-year-old-school children from the Basic School "Fray Juan Ramos de Lora" in Mérida, Venezuela. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. The population was constituted by 92 6-14-year-old-school children from the Basic School "Fray Juan Ramos de Lora" in Mérida, Venezuela. The variables dental fluorosis, opacities and enamel hypoplasia were taken into account by using the indexes according to the methodology described by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Basic Survey of Dental Health. Results indicated that 75% of the participants did not show dental fluorosis in contrast to 1.1% that presented severe fluorosis. Besides, 70.7% of the population did not present developmental defects of enamel while opposite to 16.3% and 13.1% who presented delimitated and diffuse opacities, respectively. It is evident that the higher percentage of the studied population does not present dental fluorosis or developmental alterations of enamel

Defeitos de desenvolvimento do esmalte em crianças pré-termo e com distúrbios neurológicos / Developmental defects of enamel in children prematurely born and with neurological disorders

Os autores apresentam revisão sobre defeitos de desenvolvimento do esmalte em dentes decíduos e a possibilidade de utilizá-los como marcadores biológicos, funcionando como mais um elemento na elucidação dos eventos neonatais envolvendo a prematuridade e a paralisia cerebral.

The authors present a review about developmental defects of enamel in deciduous teeth, their possible use as biological markers and potential as an additional element to elucidate neonatal events involved in prematurity and cerebral palsy.