Caries risk in patients with thalassaemia major

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and distribution of dental caries in subjects with thalassaemia major. Design: Clinical examin ation for dental caries, diagnosed according to the WHO criteria. Participa nts: A total of 54 thalassaemic patients, 23 aged 6-9 (14 males and 9 femal es) and 31 aged 12-18 (17 males and 14 females) were examined. Outcome meas ures: dmft, DMFT and plaque scores. Results: The mean dmft was 6.92 for 6-7 year olds and 4.72 for 8-9 year olds. The DMFT values were 6.57 and 5.95 f or ages 12-14 and 15-18, respectively. There was no statistically significa nt difference in caries prevalence (dmft/DMFT) between gender or between pr imary and permanent teeth. Only 17.4 per cent of the children aged 6-9 and 21.4 per cent of 12-18 years olds were caries free. The prevalence of denta l caries in the thalassaemia patients was considerably higher (22.7 per cen t) than that reported in a normal Jordanian sample (DMFT 6.26 vs 4.84). Ver y few fillings (1.4 per cent of the examined teeth) were observed, indicati ng a negligible rate of conservative treatment. More than half (61.1 per ce nt) of the patients had poor oral hygiene (plaque score greater than or equ al to2.0). Conclusions: The need for effective preventive measures, educati on and dental treatment need to be stressed for this caries risk group.