The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Autism. 2020 Jul;24(5):1047-1066. doi: 10.1177/1362361319877337. Epub 2020 Jan 13.
Children and adolescents diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are thought to be more vulnerable to oral diseases than typically-developing individuals. This is due to their increased barriers to dental care services, self-harm behaviors and dietary habits that may favor tooth decay. In this review, we summarized the current evidence comparing the oral health status of children and adolescents diagnosed with and without ASD. After a systematic search in the literature, we found that the salivary pH of individuals diagnosed with ASD was significantly lower, but the results were not clinically significant that can increase their risks to tooth decay. We also found weak evidence suggesting a higher percentage of children and adolescents diagnosed with ASD having the habit of tooth grinding compared with their neurotypical counterparts. When comparing salivary flow rate, tooth decay, gum diseases, tooth malalignment and tooth trauma; no significant differences were found between the two groups. The findings did not suggest ASD as a predisposing factor to oral diseases: other factors including sugary diet and inadequate oral hygiene may play a more important role. We also call for further research to establish more concrete association between ASD and oral diseases.
被诊断患有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的儿童和青少年被认为比一般发育个体更容易患口腔疾病。这是由于他们在获得牙科保健服务方面存在更多障碍、自我伤害行为和可能导致龋齿的饮食习惯。在这篇综述中，我们总结了比较患有和不患有 ASD 的儿童和青少年口腔健康状况的现有证据。经过系统的文献检索，我们发现被诊断患有 ASD 的个体的唾液 pH 值明显较低，但结果在临床上没有显著意义，不能增加他们患龋齿的风险。我们还发现了一些微弱的证据表明，患有 ASD 的儿童和青少年比他们的神经典型同龄人更习惯磨牙。在比较唾液流量、龋齿、牙龈疾病、牙齿不齐和牙齿外伤时，两组之间没有发现显著差异。这些发现并未表明 ASD 是口腔疾病的易患因素：包括高糖饮食和口腔卫生不足在内的其他因素可能发挥着更重要的作用。我们还呼吁进行进一步的研究，以确定 ASD 与口腔疾病之间更具体的关联。
