Relationship between Asthma, Malocclusion and Mouth Breathing in Primary Health Care Children

Abstract

Objective: To assess the relationship between asthma, malocclusion and mouth breathing. Material and Methods: This investigation was a cross-sectional study of 228 children between 6 and 12 years of age, of whom 112 were asthmatic and 116 were not, performed in two Primary Health Units of Porto Alegre, Brazil. The assessment consisted of a mouth exam performed by two calibrated dentists, an interview with parents/caregivers and medical chart data. Mouth breathing was determined through oral-facial changes related to Mouth Breathing Syndrome. Occlusion was assessed according to Angle's Classification for permanent or mixed teeth and regarding primary teeth were based on the canine relationships. The data were assessed by the Chi-square test and Poisson regression, with robust variation, at a p<0.05 significant level. Results: Asthma [PR = 2.12 (95% CI: 1.46-3.08), p<0.001] and the use of pacifiers [PR = 1.98 (95% CI: 1.27-3.07), p<0.001] were associated with mouth breathing, in the final multivariate model. Age [PR = 1.02 (95% CI: 1.00-1.03), p=0.039] and thumb sucking [PR = 1.08 (95% CI: 1.03-1.13), p=0.001] were associated with malocclusion in the final multivariate model, while there was no relationship between asthma and malocclusion (PR = 1.00; 95% CI: 0.94-1.07). Conclusion: This study provides evidence of the relationship between asthma and mouth breathing in children, demonstrating that knowledge regarding the oral health of populations with chronic diseases is fundamental for developing health programmes suitable to their needs and risks.

Impact of the Habit of Mouth Breathing on the Development of the Stomatognathic System- Literature Review

“…The literature review indicates that obstructive factors such as adenotonsillar hypertrophy and deviation of the nasal septum; inflammatory factors such as asthma and allergic rhinitis; functional factors such as the appearance of oral habits are associated with the presence of mouth breathing (Graph 1) [3,[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27].…”

“…Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways, where wheezing, dyspnea, chest tightness, and cough occur, which can be reversible or secondary symptoms, sometimes causing airway obstruction [23,24].…”

Malocclusions in Pediatric Patients with Asthma: A Case–Control Study

“…Regarding the relationship between asthma and the presence of mouth breathing habits, the results of our study indicated that 46.7% of patients with asthma presented this habit, which coincides with the result reported by Lopes dos Santos et al in 2012. Using a chi-squared statistical test, they found an association between asthma and mouth breathing ( p < 0.001), with 66.3% of children with asthma suffering from this harmful habit [ 25 ]. Other authors such as Stensson et al [ 26 ] support Lopes dos Santos.…”

“…Other authors such as Stensson et al [ 26 ] support Lopes dos Santos. When comparing a group of healthy children with one of children with asthma, they established that asthmatics presented the habit of oral breathing twice as much as the control group [ 25 , 26 ]. Additionally, in a systematic review and meta-analysis by Araujo et al, 12,147 subjects were examined, including 2083 children.…”