title: Salivary caries risk factors in long-term event-free survivors of pediatric malignant diseases.
abstract: In this study we demonstrated that caries prevalence and Plaque Index in long-term event-free pediatric oncology patients are related to Streptococcus mutans, Lactobacillus counts and buffer capacity obtained by chairside saliva tests. The scores showed a significant correlation between the microbiological findings and caries experience in both groups. The results were compared with a control group. A similarity in the results was found between the study and control groups. In a subgroup consisting of children who were diagnosed with cancer maximum two years before oral examinations, no significant differences with a control group was noticed. In this study we did not find any evidence of long-term effects on the studied salivary caries risk factors in children who are long-term event-free after cytotoxic treatment. Chairside tests seem to be useful in this patient group: they provide us information which can contribute to the determination of the individual caries risk, and help to motivate the patient and health care workers to maintain optimal oral hygiene.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dentistry, Free University of Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: F L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Dens
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boute
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vinckier
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Declerck
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D003733:Dental Caries Susceptibility / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012463:Saliva / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents