Abstract
BackgroundThe objective of this study was to elucidate the relationship between HIV anti-retroviral therapy and tooth wear.MethodsAssessment of tooth wear was conducted both with a survey questionnaire and clinical assessment at Russell Street Dental Clinic in Portland, Oregon. The survey questionnaire comprised of questions on study participant’s gender, age, HIV status, current medications, awareness of tooth grinding or clenching, jaw soreness, tooth or gum soreness, and frequency of headaches. For the clinical evaluation, a dental provider recorded the degree of wear on each tooth using a scale of 0–3. An individual tooth-wear index was used to rank patients with regard to incisal and occlusal wear. Data analysis included descriptive analysis, tests of association and regression analysis using SPSS V.24.ResultsThe study sample involved 93 patients (HIV + ve = 60, HIV–ve = 33) with age range of 20-90 yrs. (mean = 49 yrs., s.d = 13.3). 92 and 67% participants of the HIV + ve and HIV-ve groups, respectively, presented with tooth wear. The mean tooth wear index was higher in HIV + ve patients than HIV–ve patients (8.2 vs. 7.8), however, this difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). A significant, positive correlation was found between HIV presence and tooth wear index, after accounting for age (B = 0.71, p < 0.05). The number of years on anti-retroviral therapy alone was positively correlated with tooth wear index (R2 = 0.116, p < 0.05). After controlling for age, years of anti-retroviral therapy use was positively correlated with tooth wear index (B = 0.047, p > 0.05).ConclusionsThe findings from this study suggest that HIV + ve patients, who are on anti-retroviral therapy have significant tooth wear, although more studies with larger sample size are needed to confirm this. There is a critical need to initiate a dialogue with medical providers about tooth wear as a possible side effect of antiretroviral therapy and to introduce appropriate preventive measures.
Highlights
The objective of this study was to elucidate the relationship between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) anti-retroviral therapy and tooth wear
After controlling for age, we observed that the years of anti-retroviral therapy use was positively correlated with tooth wear index (B = 0.05, p-value = 0.076) (Table 4)
Though we did not attempt to measure the proportion with anxiety and/or depression within HIV + ve and HIV negative (HIV-ve) subject groups, our findings suggest this population is more affected by psychiatric disorders than non-infected individuals
Summary
The objective of this study was to elucidate the relationship between HIV anti-retroviral therapy and tooth wear. People living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) (PLWHA) face tremendous problems regarding their oral health. PLWHA have reported high unmet oral health needs and low utilization of oral health services [8, 19]. PLWHA face many barriers to acquiring oral health care, including lack of dental. Bruxism has been reported to occur about two times more frequently in PLWHA than in the general population. In a study conducted by Juvino et al in 2017, 64% of HIV/AIDS participants presented with bruxism
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