ANÁLISIS DE LA CONDICIÓN DE SALUD PERIODONTAL EN NIÑOS CON TRASTORNO DEL ESPECTRO AUTISTA: REVISIÓN DE LA LITERATURA

Abstract

Introduction: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is classified as an intellectual developmental disorder in which the affected individual tends to experience significant loss of ability to perform simple everyday tasks. Among these tasks, oral hygiene is often affected due to the inability to adapt to performing repetitive movements, leading to the development of periodontal lesions. Objective: To highlight in the scientific literature possible associations between children with ASD and worse periodontal health conditions. Methodology: This is an integrative literature review, which involved a bibliographic survey in the databases Lilacs, Google Scholar, and PubMed using the descriptors: Pediatric Dentistry, Periodontics, and Autism Spectrum Disorder combined with the Boolean operator AND. The inclusion criteria for the articles were: published articles from 2014 to 2024, full texts available in their entirety, in English, Portuguese, and Spanish. The following were excluded: monographs, theses, review articles, and duplicate articles, resulting in a final selection of 10 articles comprising the research. Results: Most of the articles included in this study presented a relationship between the occurrence of periodontal problems and ASD, with the lack of communication between dentists and the parents of the children being the most prevalent factor contributing to the deterioration of these patients' oral health. It was also noted that dental visits are often neglected by parents until painful symptoms appear in the children. Conclusion: The prevention and treatment of periodontal problems in children with autism spectrum disorder are a public health issue and the responsibility of the Dentist. Therefore, it is necessary to increase knowledge on how to guide parents to encourage children with ASD to maintain good oral hygiene, preventing the progression of periodontal diseases and consequently improving their quality of life.