Evaluation of oral and dental health status in hemophilic children and adolescents in the city of Rasht

INTRODUCTION: Patients with hemophilia need special care and attention in dentistry. Thus we assessed oral and dental Health status in children and adolescents with hemophilia in Rasht, Iran.
METHODS: In this case–control study, 53 hemophiliac patients (A and B), 2‒15 years of age, and 53 healthy children were assessed. A checklist including demographic data was filled out and the subjects were examined by one dentist. The patients were assessed for modified gingival index (MGI), plaque index (PI) and Decayed-missing-filled Teeth (DMFT in permanent teeth and dmft in primary teeth) indices. Data were analyzed with SPSS 19 at a significance level of P<0.05.
RESULTS: The mean age of the subjects was 10.49±4.21 years in the case group and 10.5±4.07 years in the control group. 92.5% of the patients exhibited factor VIII deficiency and the most frequent blood group was A (34%). 63.2% of the subjects in hemophilia group and 13.2% in the control group had a history of bleeding that was significant (P=0.0001). There were significant differences between the two groups in bleeding at tooth eruption and exfoliation sites of deciduous teeth (P=0.0001), flossing (P=0.046), toothpick use (P=0.02) and the history of dental education (P=0.014). No significant difference was found between dmft and DMFT scores between the two groups but DMFS was significantly higher in the hemophilia group (P=0.007). There was also significantly higher plaque index in the hemophilia group (P=0.003).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Considering some unsatisfactory oral health conditions in these patients, dental health care and prevention seems necessary and can be effective in the prevention of dental problems and bleedings and complex treatments.