How Pediatric Dental Care is Affected by Asthma

Asthma is a respiratory disease in which there is swelling of the tissue due to allergic reactions. As a result the airways can get blocked. If untreated, this condition may become life-threatening.

IMPLICATIONS (in Dentistry):

1. Asthma can be triggered by fear and/or anxiety. Therefore, children (even adults) can experience an acute attack of asthma
2. In the past, many oral medications contained large amounts of sugar and caused higher incidences of caries formation
3. Steroid medications can:
a) cause staining of the teeth. This is usually only on the surface and can easily be removed
b) make the children immunocompromised. They can become susceptible to infections
c) it affects the oral pH. In other words, it can alter the chemistry and cause damage due to acidity.
d) as a whole it increases the risk of tooth decay
4. children with breathing difficulty can be mouth breathers. That, in turn may cause gingival inflammation and swelling.

DENTAL MANAGEMENT:

1. All pediatric practices aim to provide with an environment that can be relaxing. Thus, limiting the fear / anxiety factor.
2. Regular dental cleaning can be done with no problem.
3. Dentists have to work with the medical doctor for children with major risks
4. There are no contraindications to the use of Nitrous Oxide sedation
5. Parents should be instructed to monitor the children when they use inhalers. They should rinse out after inhaling the medication.
6. All other simple operative procedures can be performed without any problems
7. All staff of the office should be familiar with the signs and symptoms of asthma to handle emergencies.
8. Dental offices should be properly equipped to handle emergency situations.

Efforts should be made to limit the trigger factors. If possible:

1. Eliminate or reduce the number of carpets and rugs
2. Regularly steam clean all carpets, rugs, bedding and upholstery
3. Regular dusting is necessary. Children should not be around while dusting. May be it can be done while they are at school. By the time they are back, the dust particles should settle. Even you should use a mask before dusting. It is especially important in old houses, where the more you have dust particles, the more is the risk of the children getting exposed to LEAD.
4. Do not allow your children to be around smoking.
5. Change the air filter in the central air or heating unit regularly.
6. Use hypoallergenic health and beauty products (for adults even the hair color should be of hypoallergenic type)
7. Keep the pets clean
8. Keep plants outside, if needed.