Oral hygiene and dentition status in children and adults with hemophilia: A case-control study

Abstract

Background & objectives: People with hemophilia constitute a significant proportion of the population and an oral health care professional faces a considerable challenge while treating them. This study aimed to assess the oral health and dentition status as well as fear of dental treatment in patients with hemophilia and compare it with age-matched healthy subjects.

Patients & methods: This single-center, case-control cross-sectional study was performed on 100 subjects with hemophilia and 100 age-matched healthy controls. Oral health and dentition status was recorded for all the subjects and scored using the simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S), plaque index, and the dmft/DMFT index.

Results: There were a total of 41 children and 59 adults in the hemophilia group and 36 children and 64 adults in the healthy group. When compared to healthy subjects it was observed that individuals with hemophilia had higher debris and calculus scores which was indicative of poor orodental status. There was no significant difference observed in the DMFT scores among the study groups.

Interpretation & conclusions: The oral hygiene of the hemophilics was poorer when compared to the healthy controls. The findings highlight the need for establishing interdisciplinary care for such individuals.

Keywords: blood coagulation disorders; dental fear; hemophilia; matched case-control studies; oral hemorrhages; oral hygiene.