Oral health status in children with haemophilia - a comparative study

Abstract

People with haemophilia may neglect their oral hygiene due to the fear of bleeding during brushing, leading to an increase in dental caries, gingivitis and periodontitis in this group. The available literature shows very few studies on the oral health status of children with haemophilia. The aim of the current study, therefore, was to assess the oral health status of children with haemophilia in comparison with healthy children. Data were collected from a study and control groups of haemophilic and healthy children aged 6-16 years. All children were examined under standardised conditions by a single qualified examiner and Plaque Index (PI), Modified Gingival Index (MGI) and permanent decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) and primary dmft index were recorded. A questionnaire distributed to the parents was analysed using Chi-Square and Kruskal-Wallis test, and showed a significant difference in GMI and DMFT and dmft scores between the study and control groups, a lower level of parental education level in the study group, a difference in the frequency of tooth brushing between the two groups, and a statistically higher frequency of sugar consumption among the children with haemophilia. The study concluded that children with haemophilia have poor oral health status compared to healthy children. Parental education levels, beliefs and attitude towards dental health have an impact on the child’s overall dental health. This indicates a need for early intervention by dental services as a preventive measure for children with haemophilia.

Oral hygiene and dentition status in children and adults with hemophilia: A case–control study

“…The sample size of this study was the highest as compared to the previous studies that have evaluated the orodental status of subjects with coagulation disorders . A recent study by Babu et al . on 100 hemophilic patients included only the pediatric population.…”

“…However, few studies concluded that people with hemophilia had a better dentition with lesser caries experience when compared to age matched healthy individuals . Whereas some authors observed that individuals with hemophilia had a more caries prone dentition when compared to healthy population …”

“…On the other hand, Babu et al. noted that only 6% of children with hemophilia brushed their teeth twice a day . Alpkilic et al .…”

“…Very few studies have evaluated the oral health status of hemophilics. A recent Indian study on hemophilic children has shown poor oral health status when compared to healthy children . Studies done in India and the rest of the world have shown conflicting results and the Indian studies have focused on children with all bleeding diathesis and not hemophilia in particular.…”

Hemofili Hastalarında Klinik Yaklaşım ile Ağız ve Diş Sağlığının Önemi

“…Trombosit agregasyonu üzerinde etkisi olduğu için aspirinden kaçınılır. 7 Sıklıkla görülen bu problemlerin yapılan bazı çalışmalarda daha kötü ağız sağlığına sebep olduğu 15,16 ve yaşam kalitesini düşürdüğü saptanmıştır. 5,14 Hem yaşam kalitesini yükseltmek, hem de tedavi ihtiya-cını azaltmak için hastaların oral hijyen eğitimi her zaman ön planda tutulmalıdır.…”