Oral health status of hospitalized children with cancer: a comparative study.

In this study, oral findings from children suffering from leukemia or other cancers, and hospitalized for treatments, are compared with findings from hospitalized patients from the Children s Surgery Department, without systemic or general illnesses. The aim of the study is to determine possible differences in the status of oral health between the hospitalized cancer-ward children and children hospitalized, but with good general health, in order to develop special prophylactic measures as required. The visual oral findings included the prevalence of caries (DMF/T, Decayed, Missed, Filled/Tooth), oral hygiene, severe periodontal diseases, records of defects of the oral mucosa, and information was collected on fluoridation. For both groups of children, the degree of treatment-need of the remaining dentition was 63%. Caries-free dentition was found in 53.7% of the surgery patients and 40.7% of the cancer-ward children. Good oral hygiene was found in only 49% of the cases among the cancer-ward children, while among the children without systemic illness the figure climbed to 87% of the cases. Gingivitis among the children without general illness was only diagnosed in 7.4% of the cases, but in contrast, among the cancer-ward children the percentage of gingivitis (62.8% ) was significantly higher (p < 0.0001). The present study strongly suggests that for children with cancer and subject to aggressive therapy and/or long hospitalizations, beyond the general medical examination on hospital admission, a dental examination should also be instituted.