Authors: A.M. Meldrum, W.M. Thomson, B.K. Drummond, M.R. Sears
Journal: Caries Research, March 2001
Reviewer: Kris Hendricks
Major topic: To determine if asthma and caries rate were realted
Findings:
Despite suggestions from the literature that asthmatics may be at higher risk for caries, this study found no relationship between asthma and caries rate.
Method:
Cohort study of 781 subjects, 206 had no history of asthma and the others were divided into groups depending on severity of asthma and medication dependence.
Related Findings:
It has been suggested that asthmatics may be at higher risk for caries based on the following
- asthmatics have altered salivary composition and flow rates due to the presence of specific auto-antibodies to beta-adrenergic recepotors. This is caused by administration of beta agaonist anti-asthmatic drugs
- many asthmatic drugs use lactose or other sugars as a delivery agent
- xerostomia plus lactose can cause decay (typically lactose is less cariogenic than other sugars)
- most inhaled asthma powders have a pH below 5.5
- some asthamtics use cariogenic beverages to alleviate xerostomia
My take:
Decent article. They really didn't look at that many asthamtics using a lot of medication--like 50--so I would guess that a lot of the feared effects of asthmatic drugs would affect a highly medicated population more than the asthmatic who has an inhaler but doesn't use it much.
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