Oral manifestations of asthmatic patients.

The effect of asthma on oral health is the subject of debate among dental practitioners. The current study was planned to investigate the oral manifestations of asthmatics compared to healthy subjects. The study group composed of 100 asthmatics and 100 age-matched healthy controls. The caries status based on Decayed/Missing/Filled Teeth (DMFT) criteria and oral lesion were evaluated in all subjects. The mean age of the asthmatics group was 47.5±3.5 years and in the control group it was 43.5±3.0 years. Asthmatics included 45(45%) males and 55(55%) females. There was no statistical difference between caries prevalence in both groups. The most prevalent oral lesions in asthmatics group were geographic tongue 10(10%), fissured tongue 13(13%), chronic atrophic candidiasis13(13%), and in the control group were fissured tongue(11%) and lichenoid reaction(2%). The dental professional must be familiar with all signs and symptoms of this disease in order to offer effective and safe treatment.