Oral health in children and adolescents with haemophilia.

Abstract

Bleeding disorders are certainly one of the most difficult health conditions among health professionals. The haemophilia requires special care in dentistry mainly due to highly vascularized oral cavity. The objective of this study was to determine oral health conditions of children and adolescents with haemophilia at a haematology centre. The sample was composed of 40 children and adolescents aged 1-18years. Data collection occurred by means of a questionnaire about social and economical conditions, and an examination of the oral cavity. The decayed, missing and filled deciduous teeth (dmft), decayed, missing and filled permanent teeth (DMFT) and gingival bleeding (allows the determination of gingival bleeding) epidemiological indexes were evaluated. When evaluating caries experience, the mean value for the dmft index was 3.4 for the deciduous dentition, DMFT score of 0.9 for mixed-dentition, and 2.9 for permanent dentition. The mean value for the gingival bleeding index was similar in all three phases of development, showing a mean value of 1.74. The majority of the children and adolescents demonstrated unsatisfactory oral health.