Untreated dental caries in a Brazilian paediatric AIDS patient population.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of the present study was to assess the prevalence of untreated caries in a Brazilian paediatric acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patient population and its association with sociodemographic, behavioural and clinical characteristics.


METHODS
The study group was comprised of 125 HIV-infected patients (aged 3 to 15 years) who had already manifested AIDS and were assisted in a specialised health care unit. Dental examinations followed the World Health Organization's guidelines for oral health surveys. Family caregivers provided information about the socioeconomic standing and the behaviour of their children. Patients' medical records in the hospital provided information on the clinical status of patients. A Poisson regression analysis was used for assessing the covariates for the prevalence of untreated dental caries, as adjusted by age.


RESULTS
The prevalence of untreated caries was 58%; a higher prevalence was found in younger children with primary and mixed dentition. The prevalence of untreated caries associated significantly with lower socioeconomic status (household crowding and schooling of the caregiver), dietary habits (higher frequency of sugar consumption) and poorer clinical status (HIV viral load and symptom severity).


CONCLUSIONS
The high burden of untreated caries on paediatric AIDS patients reinforced the importance of integrating the clinician with the interdisciplinary health care team that assisted these children. The identification of socioeconomic and behavioural factors associated with caries experience reinforced the importance of the attention that children with AIDS received within their own households for the prevention of dental disease, particularly a proper nutritional advisement and monitoring of dental hygiene.
Massarente
Débora Bizetto
DB
University of São Paulo, Brazil.
Domaneschi
Carina
C
Antunes
José Leopoldo Ferreira
JL
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003818:Dentition, Mixed; D019422:Dietary Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004522:Educational Status; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D015995:Prevalence; D012923:Social Class; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous / Q000473:pathology; D019562:Viral Load
D019422:Dietary Sucrose