Oral health status and oral habits of children and adolescents with hemophilia: a report from the children’s hemophilia comprehensive care center of China

In recent years, the diagnosis and treatment of hemophilic children in China has significantly improved. However, oral health conditions, which affect quality of life, haven’t received attention in this population. To explore the oral health status and oral hygiene of children and adolescents with hemophilia in the Children’s Hemophilia Comprehensive Care Center of China. Dental and oral hygiene examinations were performed in children and adolescents with hemophilia who visited Beijing Children’s Hospital. DMFT/dmft (decayed, missing, filled teeth in permanent and primary teeth) was assessed according to World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. The simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S) was used to evaluate the oral hygiene condition of the subjects. Questionnaires were completed by their parents. SPSS 21.0 was used for statistical analysis. A total of 114 children and adolescents were enrolled. The caries prevalence was 57.4%, 72.2% and 41.2% in primary, mixed and permanent dentitions respectively. The filling rates were 14.4%, 13.9%, and 11.4%, respectively, and the OHI-S scores of the three dentition groups were 1.49 ± 0.46, 1.57 ± 0.43, and 1.76 ± 0.46, respectively. A total of 103 valid questionnaires were collected. Sixty-nine children (67%) didn’t brushed their teeth 2 times a day. Nearly half of the parents knew little about fluoride toothpaste. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that brushing teeth with the help of parents had a significant positive impact on OHI-S.

  Conclusion: Dental health was unsatisfactory among hemophilic children and adolescents. The caries filling rates were low. Patients and their parents did not give much attention to oral health.