Oral health characteristics in children and adolescents with Down syndrome

AIM

To compare oral health indicators of children/adolescents with Down syndrome (DS) with a group of children/adolescents without DS.

METHODS AND RESULTS

This cross-sectional study included 144 individuals with DS, ages 4 to 18 years, matched for age and sex with a group of 144 individuals without DS, and their parents/caregivers. Parents/caregivers completed a questionnaire regarding sociodemographic information and habits related to their children's oral health. Clinical examination of the children/adolescents evaluated dental caries experience (DMFT/dmft), bleeding on periodontal probing, presence of visible plaque, clinical consequences of untreated dental caries (PUFA/pufa), and malocclusion (DAI). The chi-square test, linear by linear test, and Mann-Whitney test were used to compare the variables between the groups (p < .05). Children/adolescents without DS brushed their teeth more times per day (p < .001) and had a higher frequency of daily sugar intake (p < .001). The children/adolescents in the DS group had a greater presence of gingival bleeding (p < .001) and had a greater number of cases of "severe malocclusion" and "very severe malocclusion" (p = .001). No difference was found in the prevalence of dental caries between the two groups.

CONCLUSION

The children/adolescents in the DS group had a greater presence of gingival bleeding during the clinical examination and had a greater need for orthodontic treatment.

Comparison of the malocclusion and orthodontic treatment needs of Down syndrome and non-syndromic subjects by using the dental aesthetics index

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the prevalence and significance of the malocclusion traits and orthodontic treatment needs of Down syndrome (DS) subjects with matched non-syndromic (NS) controls.

METHODOLOGY

This cross-sectional study involved 222 subjects (50% DS, 50% NS) who were matched by gender and age. The casts were digitized into three-dimensional images. These images were used alongside the ten occlusal characteristics of the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI) to determine malocclusion severity and the need for orthodontic treatment.

RESULTS

There were 58 (52.3%) females and 53 (47.7%) males with a mean age of 18.4 ± 8.4 years in both groups. The most common and significant (p < .05) malocclusion traits among the DS subjects were missing teeth (56.2%), incisal spacing segments (73.0%), anterior maxillary irregularity (95.5%), mandibular overjet (36.0%), and full cusp deviation of the molar relationship (61.3%). On the other hand, increased maxillary overjet (69.3%) is a more significant (p < .05) trait amongst NS subjects. There were 85 (76.6%) DS subjects who presented severe malocclusion, which implies a highly orthodontic treatment need (DAI > 30). The DS showed some impact of malocclusion traits components of the DAI.

CONCLUSION

The occurrence of malocclusion was higher in DS, implying a higher need for orthodontic treatments than for NS subjects.

Orofacial findings and orthodontic treatment conditions in patients with down syndrome - a retrospective investigation

INTRODUCTION

The most common chromosomal anomaly is Down syndrome/Trisomy 21, which can be associated with varying degrees of intellectual disability and physical malformation. Specific orofacial characteristics regarding orthodontic treatment options and features are described on the basis of a patient collective from the Witten/Herdecke University, Germany.

METHODS

Data of 20 patients (14 boys and 6 girls, mean age: 11.69 ± 3.94 years) who underwent orthodontic treatment between July 2011 and May 2022 were analyzed. Baseline skeletal and dental conditions were assessed, as well as the presence of hypodontia, displacements, and treatment-related root resorptions. The treatment need was evaluated based on the main findings according to the German KIG classification. In addition, treatment success was determined in relation to patient compliance.

RESULTS

The patient group was characterized predominantly by a class III relationship (ΔANB: -2.07 ± 3.90°; ΔWITS: -3.91 ± 4.33 mm) and a brachyfacial cranial configuration (ΔML-NL: -4.38 ± 7.05°, ΔArGoMe: - 8.45 ± 10.06°). The transversal discrepancy of the dental arch width from maxilla to mandible was -0.91 ± 3.44 mm anteriorly and -4.4 ± 4.12 mm posteriorly. Considering the orthodontic indication groups, the most frequent initial finding and treatment indication represented hypodontia (85%), followed by frontal (75%) and unilateral lateral (35%) crossbite. In 55% of the cases, the teeth had a regular shape, but in 35% a generalized and in 15% an isolated hypoplasia. Only 25% of the patients could be treated with a fixed multiband appliance due to sufficient cooperation. In each of these patients, varying degrees of root resorptions were detected during treatment, and 45% of all treatments had to be terminated prematurely due to a lack of cooperation by patients or parents.

CONCLUSION

The extent of dental and skeletal malformations and the high rate of findings requiring treatment in patients with Down syndrome represent a significant indication for orthodontic therapy, which can be well illustrated by the KIG classification. However, this is in contrast to the eventually increased risk of root resorption, with significantly reduced patient cooperation. A compromised treatment outcome and process must be expected. Consequently, the orthodontic treatment must be simple and realistic to achieve fast and therapeutically satisfactory treatment result.

Masticatory function in children with Down syndrome

The objective was to study masticatory function of 8 to 10-year-old children with Down syndrome (DS) through the evaluation of maximum occlusal force and masticatory performance (via medium particle size) and compare it to that of children of the same age without DS.

METHODS

A convenience sample of eight, 8-10-year-old children with DS were included in this cross-sectional study. The study had ethical approval and parents provided informed consent. Exclusion criteria were large carious lesions, dental pain or previous orthodontic/orthopedic treatment. Masticatory performance was evaluated with an artificial test food (Optosil Comfort®) after 20 cycles and at swallowing threshold. The chewed material was collected, dried and sieved. The material on each sieve was weighed; the weights were used to calculate medium particle size. Maximum occlusal force (1st permanent molars) was determined using the GM10 Nagano Keiki Co.™ portable transducer. The number of cycles until swallowing threshold, cycle and sequence durations were also compared. The data for the reference group (n = 32) came from a previous study in children of the same age. Descriptive statistics as well as comparisons with Mann-Whitney tests and simple and multiple regression analysis were performed. Cutoff was set at p≤.05.

RESULTS

Medium particle size is larger by 44% after 20 chewing cycles and 75% at swallowing threshold (p<.05) in children with DS. Median maximum occlusal force was 254 kN in DS children and 499 kN in children without the syndrome (p<.001). 48% of the variance in maximum occlusal force is explained by having DS. There were also significant differences in sequence and cycle durations. All significant differences had large effect sizes (˃1). Although the children with DS chewed more cycles before swallowing threshold the difference was not significant.

CONCLUSIONS

Children with DS have approximately 50% of the masticatory performance and maximum occlusal force of children of the same age without DS. These findings can be associated to the feeding problems reported in children with DS.

Malocclusion in children and adolescents with Down syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have shown a high prevalence of malocclusion in people with Down syndrome (DS) compared to individuals without DS, but no systematic review to summarize the evidence on this topic has been performed thus far.

AIM

To evaluate whether children/adolescents with DS are more affected by malocclusion than those without DS.

DESIGN

A search was performed in seven electronic databases. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. The strength of the evidence from the selected studies was evaluated by the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system.

RESULTS

Eleven publications were included in the systematic review and eight were meta-analysed. The meta-analysis showed that malocclusion was more prevalent in children/adolescents with DS for Angle Class III (risk difference [RD] = 0.40; confidence interval [CI] = 0.33, 0.46), posterior crossbite (risk ratio [RR] = 3.09; CI = 2.02, 4.73), anterior crossbite (RR = 2.18; CI = 1.41, 3.39), and anterior open bite (RD = 0.21; CI = 0.06, 0.36).

CONCLUSION

The occurrence of malocclusion was higher in children/adolescents with DS compared to individuals without the syndrome. The strength of the evidence of the studies analysed, however, was considered moderate and low.