Herbal Lollipops on Oral Bacterial Levels and DMFT/Dmft Scores of Children With Asthma Using Inhalers

• Levels of oral Streptococcus mutans [ Time Frame: Measured at baseline and 6 months. ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  The count of S. mutans will be obtained by culture and be expressed in colony forming units (CFUs).
  
  

• DMFT/dmft score changes [ Time Frame: Measured at baseling and 6 months. ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  Decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT/dmft) score is an index for measuring dental caries.
  
  

This study is entitled, "Effects of herbal lollipops on Streptococcus Mutans levels and the dental caries experience of children with asthma taking beta2-adrenergic drugs." In this study, forty-five (45) children between the ages of four (4) and sixteen (16) with bronchial asthma taking a beta2-adrenergic agonist drug at least once a week will participate in a six (6) month regimen of herbal lollipops as adjunctive oral hygiene therapy. The objective of this study is to determine how effective the six-month regimen of herbal lollipops is at controlling the Streptococcus Mutans levels and the caries process in the study group. Whether or not a case can be made for including herbal lollipops in standard oral hygiene protocol for children with asthma will also be a goal of this study. Relevant data will be collected using the following method. The subjects of this study will be provided with and instructed to dissolve two (2) herbal lollipops by mouth per day for the first ten (10) days of the study and again for ten (10) days three (3) months into the study. Each subject will receive a total of forty (40) lollipops for the study. The study group will be matched with a control group of forty-five (45) children who also have asthma and who take beta2-adrenergic agonist drugs as needed for symptoms. The children in the control group will be given placebo lollipops and will be instructed to use them in the manner described above. All ninety (90) subjects will be drawn from the collective patient pools of the UNMC College of Dentistry in Lincoln, NE, and the UNMC Pediatric Dentistry and UNMC Pediatrics Clinics in Omaha, NE. Oral hygiene instructions will be given to all participating subjects at the onset of the study. Entrance Streptococcus mutans levels and decayed, missing and filled teeth scores (DMFT/dmft) will be determined on the subjects and changes over the six (6) month study will be compared and evaluated. If some stabilization or improvement in the Streptococcus mutans levels and/or dental caries experience in the study group is shown, such promising results will allow for implementation of longer-term studies. The significance of this study is that adjunctive oral hygiene therapy that employs herbal lollipops may prove to help children who suffer from bronchial asthma lower their dental caries risks and have healthier oral environments unburdened by the effects of their medication and condition.