Ocena stanu uzębienia oraz nawyków higienicznych i żywieniowych u dzieci z chorobą refluksową przełyku

*Kamila Czarnota-Haus, Magdalena Wochna-Sobańska

Summary
Introduction: Gastroesophageal reflux disease is the unwitting passive retreat of the acid contents of the stomach into the esophagus. GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) occurs in every 5 little child, and up to a half of this group suffers from reflux of gastric contents into the throat. Clinical symptoms of reflux can be divided into glottal, pharyngeal, pulmonological and others from the point of view of their location such as sinusitis, otitis or oral. In older children the risk of nighttime reflux episodes is much higher which results from the reduced incidence of swallowing during sleep. In addition, the neutralization of acid contents in the esophagus by alkaline saliva is reduced at night in children compared to adults. As a result of repeated episodes of gastric acid presence in the throat, and in consequence, in the oral cavity, teeth tissue damage and loss of the unveiling of the dentin occur.
Aim: The purpose of this work is to assess eating habits, hygiene status and teeth condition in children with gastroesophageal reflux disease.
Material and methods: Surveys and conducted clinical trials included 53 people aged from 4 to 18 years (35 girls and 18 boys), patients of Enterological Clinic of Maria Konopnicka University Hospital diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease. A reference group consisted of 33 generally healthy children randomly selected strictly by age (16 girls and 17 boys), patients of Department of Pediatric Dentistry Medical University of Lodz referred for routine control to the Chair. Clinical examination was performed in the dentist’s Office, in artificial light using mirrors and a probe. On the basis of the clinical examination results dental caries indexes puw and PUW were calculated. Oral hygiene status was assessed using OHI index.
Results: Analysis of calculated indexes showed that oral hygiene of children suffering from GERD is definitely better (OHI = 0.20) than that of patients in the control group (OHI = 0.60). The difference is statistically significant. The assessment also revealed statistically significant differences of PUW. This index is higher in the test group (3.52) than in the control group (2.29). Survey results showed no statistical differences.
Conclusions: Despite the better oral hygiene, caries intensity in children with GERD is statistically significantly higher than in the reference group. This is most likely related to the diet and high exposure of the tooth tissue to acids.

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