Dentofacial Malocclusion and Salivary Biomarkers in Asthmatic Patients: A Scoping Review

To explore the association between asthma, dentofacial malocclusion, and salivary biomarkers, providing an understanding of current evidence, identifying gaps in knowledge, and highlighting future research priorities in the field.

Joanna Briggs Institute guidance for conducting and PRISMA-ScR reporting were the guidelines followed. Comprehensive searches of PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Google Scholar, and ProQuest identified case-control and cross-sectional studies published between 2000 and August 2025 that assessed asthma in relation to malocclusion or salivary biomarkers.

Twenty-two studies were included: nine on malocclusion and 13 on salivary biomarkers. Most studies reported increased prevalence of posterior crossbite, anterior open bite, and greater palatal depth among asthmatics, while maxillary intermolar/interpremolar width and overbite were reduced. The findings for overjet, Angle's classification, and other dental parameters were variable. Crowding showed no significant association with asthma. Salivary IL-6 and VEGF were higher in asthmatics, whereas IL-8 showed variable results with most of the included studies reporting no change in their levels. Eosinophilic cationic protein was generally elevated, while alpha amylase and IL-1β levels were unchanged. Other salivary biomarkers such as IP-10 and malondialdehyde showed variable findings across the studies.

A limited evidence suggests asthma to be linked to both dentofacial malocclusion and altered salivary biomarker levels.