Comparative study between dental caries prevalence of Down syndrome children and their siblings

The purpose of this epidemiological study was to determine the differences in the prevalence of caries between individuals with Down syndrome (DS) and their siblings. A sibling-matched, population-based and cross-sectional survey was performed. This study involved 138 (62%) children with DS and 86 (38%) siblings, aged 2-26. The children were compared in different subgroups: [2, 6], [6, 12], and [13, 26]. Data was gathered through the use of a complete questionnaire and clinical observation. Data analysis was performed by using SPSS (R) v.18.0 software with any p value <.05 considered as significant. The DS group presented a significantly higher percentage of children within the caries-free group: 72% versus 46% of the siblings group (p < .001). In the age gap [2, 6[the median value of DMFT was the same in both groups (p = .918). In the age gap [6, 12] the median value of DMFT in the DS group was 0 and in the siblings group was 1 (p = .004). In the age gap [13, 26] the median value of DMFT in the DS group was 0, whereas in the siblings group the median value was 3, which constitutes a significantly high difference (p = .003). The results of this study suggest that Portuguese children with DS have lower caries prevalence than their siblings.