Caries prevalence among HIV-infected children between four and ten years old at a paediatric virology out-patients ward in Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa.
BACKGROUND
There remains controversy in the literature as to whether children with HIV are at greater risk for caries than healthy children.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the caries prevalence and unmet treatment needs (UTN) in a cohort of HIV+ive children between the ages of four and ten years who were attending the Charlotte Maxeke Paediatric Virology out-patients ward and to compare the results with the data of the National Children's Oral Health Survey (NCOHS).


METHODS
This descriptive, analytic study comprised of a sample of 277 children attending the Paediatric Virology out patients ward at the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital over a one year period. The caries status was measured using WHO guidelines and criteria.


RESULTS
Among the 93 children aged between four and five years, the caries prevalence of the primary dentition was 70.9%; the dmft was 5.1 and the UTN was 99.6%. In the 62 six year olds and 122 seven to ten year olds, the caries prevalence in the primary teeth was 62.9% and 67.2%; the dmft was 4.2 and 4 and the UTN 100% and 87.8% respectively. The mean dmft of the four, five and six year olds was significantly higher than those reported in the NCOHS. The four, five and sx-year old HIV positive children had a 1.4 times higher risk of caries development than children from the general population (p < 0.002).


CONCLUSIONS
This cohort of HIV-infected children had significantly higher caries prevalence, dmft and UTN than did children from the general population.
Faculty of Health Sciences, Dept of Community Dentistry, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. zorayda.joosab@wits.ac.za
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D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D017281:Cost of Illness; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003753:Dental Health Surveys; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous / Q000473:pathology