Asthma is a common, long-term inflammatory disease of the airways. The chronic inflammation is associated with hyper-responsiveness of the airways that leads to symptoms such as breathlessness, wheezing and coughing (Global Initiative for Asthma, 2013).
In the UK, approximately one in every 11 children is affected by asthma (Asthma UK, 2012). As it is such a common condition, the whole dental team needs to be aware of the effects of asthma on dental health and the considerations that must be taken into account for management of asthmatic paediatric dental patients.
A lot of research has been published on the associations between asthma and various aspects of oral health such as caries risk, risk of non-carious tooth surface loss, periodontal health, enamel defects and susceptibility to oral fungal infections.
Register now to continue reading
Thank you for visiting Dental Nursing and reading some of our resources. To read more, please register today. You’ll enjoy the following great benefits:
What's included
-
Up to 2 free articles per month
-
New content available
Already have an account? Sign in here