title: Oral health status in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
abstract: Leukemia is a malignancy of the bone marrow. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common pediatric malignancy and accounts for nearly 75% of all newly diagnosed leukemias and 25% of all malignancies in childhood. The aim of the present study was to review the oral health status in children with ALL. Databases were explored using various combinations of the following keywords: "acute lymphoblastic leukemia", "children", "inflammation", "pediatric", "periodontal disease" and "periodontitis". Oral inflammatory conditions including chelitis, gingivitis, herpetic gingivostomatitis, mucositis, oral candidiasis, periodontitis and ulcerations are common manifestations in children with ALL.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Periodontal inflammatory conditions and oral mucositis were reported to be significantly higher in children with ALL as compared to healthy controls. Tooth morphological disorders including agenesis, microdontia, short roots and developmental defects in the enamel and dentin were more often observed in children with ALL as compared to healthy controls. Children with ALL have a reduced salivary flow rate, which makes them more susceptible to dental caries as compared to healthy children. Malocclusion due to microdontia may also trigger temporomandibular joint disorders in children with ALL; however, this relationship needs further investigations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Oral inflammatory conditions including mucositis and gingivitis are common in children with ALL as compared to healthy children. Tooth morphological disorders including microdontia and enamel and dentin are common manifestations in children with ALL.
authors.affiliation: Eng. A.B. Research Chair for Growth Factors and Bone Regeneration, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, P.O. Box 60169, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. fawjav@gmail.com
authors.forename: Fawad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Javed
authors.forename: Achint
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Utreja
authors.forename: Fernanda O
authors.initials: FO
authors.lastname: Bello Correa
authors.forename: Mansour
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al-Askar
authors.forename: Malik
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hudieb
authors.forename: Faisal
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Qayyum
authors.forename: Abdulaziz
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Rasheed
authors.forename: Khalid
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Almas
authors.forename: Khalid
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Al-Hezaimi
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology; D009909:Oral Health; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology