Oral health status and HIV related oral manifestations of children and adolescents living with HIV/AIDS aged 2-15 yrs in Nairobi and Mombasa
Abstract
Background: HIV infection in children is associated with immune suppression and susceptibility to various opportunistic infections. There is also an increased risk of dental diseases.
Objective: Was to determine the oral health status and HIV related oral
manifestations in children living with HIV/AIDS.
Setting: Nyumbani and New Life childrens homes and outpatient Comprehensive Care Centres at Kenyatta National Hospital and Coast Province General Hospital.
Study design: Cross-sectional descriptive study over a period of three months.
Subjects: Two hundred and thirty seven children aged between 2-15 years living with HIV infection/AIDS.
Methodology: The parents /guardians of the children answered a structured
questionnaire on the oral health practices, oral complaints and whether the children were on ARV's.
A clinical oro-facial examination of the study subjects was undertaken to determine the oral health status and prevalence of HIV oral lesions. The findings were then recorded in a modified WHO oral health assessment form.
The data were analysed using S.P.S.S. version 11.0. Descriptive and inferential statistics were done using the X2,Mann Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis and Student T tests setting the p value at 0.05.
Results: Of the 237 participants, there were 112(47.3%) males and 125(52.7%)
females, with mean age of 7.5 years.
A fair oral hygiene was elicited in 161(67.9%) while 49(20.7%) presented with high plaque scores and only 27(11.4%) had good oral hygiene.
Two hundred and five (86.5%) children presented with gingivitis among whom 115(48.5%) had mild gingivitis, 89(37.6%) moderate gingivitis and one child (0.4%) severe gingivitis.
The deciduous dentition caries prevalence was 84.4% with a mean dmft of 6.38(± S05.45). Caries prevalence in the permanent dentition was 78.3% and the mean OMFT score was 3.35 (± SO 3.55).
The dental parameters varied according to the study centres, gender, oral health
practices, oral complaints and immune suppression state.
The prevalence of HIV related oral manifestations was 45.8%. Candidiasis was the most common (40.9%), 6.3% had oral ulcerations, 3.7% bilateral parotid
4 enlargement and 1.7% linear gingival erythema. The frequency of oral manifestations was higher amongst children from the Comprehensive Care Centers (p<O.05), those with increased severity of gingivitis, primary dentition caries, poor oral health practices, and oral complaints (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The oral health status of children living with HIV/AIOS is generally poor with a high prevalence of dental disease and HIV related oral
manifestations.
Recommendations: Primary care of HIV infected children should include dental
management to alleviate symptoms associated with oral opportunistic infections related to HIV infection and institution of preventive oral health care measures.
Publisher
University of Nairobi
Subject
Mouth -- Care and HygieneAIDS (Disease) in children
AIDS (Disease) in adolescence
AIDS related complex
Description
(data migrated from the old repository)