Oral status of HIV‐infected children aged 12 years or younger who attended a Paediatric Infectious Diseases Clinic in Cape Town

Abstract

Background Children continue to suffer from the impact of the human immunodeficiency virus‐acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) pandemic. In Cape Town, these children receive medical care including antiretroviral therapy from facilities like Tygerberg Hospital's Paediatric Infectious Diseases Clinic. HIV‐infected children may experience an increased caries experience when compared with their healthy peers. Aim The aim of this study was to determine the oral health status of HIV‐infected children younger than 12 years receiving antiviral drugs at the Paediatric Infectious Diseases Clinic. Design A cross‐sectional survey was conducted among children aged between 2 and 12 years presenting at this clinic. Caregivers were interviewed to obtain information regarding health seeking behaviour, oral hygiene practices and dietary habits. A single clinician undertook a standardized clinical intraoral examination according to the World Health Organization guidelines, with modifications. Results Sixty‐six children were recruited. A high prevalence of dental caries (78.8%) and an unmet treatment need of 90.4% were recorded among the participants. Most children had never visited the dentist, and those who did had mainly received emergency dental care. Conclusion The high prevalence of severe dental caries in this population highlights the need for oral health awareness and the inclusion of oral health care in the comprehensive care of children with HIV. Why this paper is important to paediatric dentists The study highlights the importance of collaborating with health professions outside of dentistry. Doctors and nurses are often the first health professionals to come into contact with children with special needs. They should therefore be made aware of the early signs of decay so that these patients can be referred for dental treatment timeously. Holistic management of children with special healthcare needs is essential to improve their overall well‐being.

Voluntary Counselling and Testing for HIV in the dental setting: Knowledge, attitudes and practices of oral health care workers in eThekwini district, KwaZulu-Natal

“…According to Mohamed et al, a high prevalence of dental caries (78.8%) and an unmet treatment need of 90.4% were recorded among children with HIV/AIDS that visited the dental clinic in the Western Cape. 24 This again highlights the role that oral health care workers can play in HIV detection. Therefore, health planning in the district should include opportunities for oral health care to be integrated into HIV education and clinical management such as early diagnosis of HIV.…”

Impact of Breastfeeding and Cosleeping on Early Childhood Caries: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…This study analyzed the roles played by a set of variables, such as the practice of cosleeping, breastfeeding, hygiene, diet, and visits to the pediatric dentist, but these represent only some of the many factors that could affect the development of carious lesions. Other confounding factors can be genetics, vertical bacterial transmission, drug use, and chronic disease [ 25 , 26 ], which were not analyzed. These variables should be taken into account when analyzing the results, but agreeing with Axelsen et al [ 13 ], although there are more factors for the development of caries, cosleeping for 18 months or more should be considered a risk factor that increases the likelihood of a higher incidence of caries in children.…”

Prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in human immunodeficiency virus‐infected children attending the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Clinic in Cape Town

“…Although children up to the age of 16 years are admitted to this clinic, only children between 2 and 12 years of age—with a confirmed HIV‐positive status—were enrolled in the study because the upper age limit for pediatric dental patients at the adjacent Tygerberg Oral Health Centre is 12 years (Mohamed, Mathiba, & Mulder, 2020). Regardless, following good clinical practice, brief oral health advice was given to all the children and caregivers.…”

“…The oral health status and prevalence of oral mucosal lesions among the children living with HIV/AIDS admitted to the Tygerberg Pediatric Infectious Diseases Clinic (Tygerberg PIDC) were unknown (Mohamed, Mathiba, & Mulder, 2020). This study aimed to investigate the array of oral mucosal lesions associated with HIV among children living with the disease.…”