The association between oral and overall health, and particularly between dental and immune health, in children living with HIV remains unclear. This study examined the association between the decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) score and CD4+ cell counts in 142 children living with HIV aged 8–15 years (male, 51%) from Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Other indicators of oral health (e.g., debris index, salivary flow, salivary pH and oral health-related quality of life) and overall health (e.g., nutritional status and quality of life) were also evaluated. DMFT scores were negatively associated with the CD4+ cell count in male children (β: −0.13, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −0.25, −0.02). In all children, positive associations were observed between salivary pH and CD4+ count (β: −0.645, 95% CI: 0.02, 1.25) and between salivary flow and height-for-age Z-score (β: 1.22, 95% CI: 0.50, 1.95). The debris index was negatively associated with the height-for-age Z-score (β: −2.04, 95% CI: −3.38, −0.71). In summary, oral health was associated with immune and nutritional status. Oral health policies for children living with HIV should be emphasised, and further studies should evaluate the mechanism underlying the relationship between oral and overall health.

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Children in rural Bangladesh have limited access to oral health services. As a pilot project, a one-day one-time oral health educational intervention was conducted at a primary school in Tangail district in Bangladesh. This study assessed the effect of this educational intervention on the children’s oral behaviors using controlled pre- and post-intervention design. Fifty-two students at the intervention school and 37 students at a control school agreed to participate in this study. A baseline survey was conducted for children at both schools using a standardized semi-structured questionnaire. Children at the intervention school received face-to-face dental exercises and a group seminar. Six months after the intervention, a follow-up survey was conducted at both schools to compare changes in children’s oral behaviors at the two schools. The increase in the percentage of intervention-school participants who reported brushing their teeth two or more times per day between the baseline and follow-up surveys was 7.6 times greater than that in the control group (95% CI= 1.7–35.1; p<0.009). The increase in the percentage of intervention-school participants who reported brushing their teeth before bed between the two surveys was 7.3 times greater than that in the control group (95% CI=1.6–34.0; p<0.001). The findings suggest the importance of skill-based intervention, in collaboration with dentists, school teachers, parents, and community health educators. Future studies on the effectiveness of school-based educational interventions should consider longer-term sustainable behavioral changes in children’s oral health.South East Asia Journal of Public Health Vol.7(2) 2017: 27-33