Abstract
To assess the impact of oral conditions on the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of pediatric liver transplant candidates. This cross-sectional study included 60 children aged 13 to 48 months who were liver transplant candidates that attended the AC Camargo Cancer Center, São Paulo, Brazil. On the day of oral examinations, the children's mothers were invited to answer two questionnaires; one related to children's OHRQoL using the B-ECOHIS and another related to socioeconomic/demographic characteristics. Thereafter, a single, adequately trained dentist carried out children's oral examinations for gingival inflammation (Silness-Löe index), dental plaque (Green-Vermillion Simplified index), dental caries (dmft index), developmental defects of enamel (DDE index), tooth discoloration, oral mucosal/lip alterations. The data collected also included socioeconomic/demographic characteristics and liver disease. The adjusted Poisson regression model was used to associate children's socioeconomic/demographic characteristics and clinical conditions to the outcome. The adjusted regression model showed that children with untreated caries lesions (RR = 3.35, p < 0.0001) and tooth discoloration (RR = 1.74, p = 0.04) had poorer total B-ECOHIS scores. Dental discoloration and untreated caries lesions had a negative impact on the OHRQoL in pediatric liver transplant candidates.
Highlights
Chronic liver diseases, which imply long-standing irreversible changes in hepatic structure, are considered a common cause of morbidity and mortality in children.[1]
Most of the studies related to this topic are case reports that have described the presence of certain oral conditions, which include gingival inflammation, higher susceptibility to dental caries, tooth discoloration caused by bilirubin, and developmental defects of enamel (DDE).[3,4,5,6,7]
The sample power was calculated in the OpenEpi Online program using means and standard deviations for total ECOHIS scores among children without and with untreated dental caries, as well as among children without and with dental pigmentation
Summary
Chronic liver diseases, which imply long-standing irreversible changes in hepatic structure, are considered a common cause of morbidity and mortality in children.[1] One of these diseases, biliary atresia, is a major issue in pediatrics since it is the main indication for liver transplantation in children.[2] There is a paucity of literature on the oral conditions of children with liver disease. Most of the studies related to this topic are case reports that have described the presence of certain oral conditions, which include gingival inflammation, higher susceptibility to dental caries, tooth discoloration caused by bilirubin, and developmental defects of enamel (DDE).[3,4,5,6,7]. Pediatric liver transplant candidates could present with poorer general health due to the underlying disease.
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