Dental Caries Experience Amongst 3-15 Year Old Children with Heart Disease Attending Paediatric Cardiology Clinics in Nairobi Kenya

Daniel Kimei, Gladys N Opinya* and Arthur M Kemoli

Received: February 12, 2018;   Published: February 21, 2018

DOI: 10.32474/MADOHC.2018.01.000114

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Abstract

Background: Children with a medical disability are those whose medical condition puts their general health further at risk if they suffer dental disease. Because of this risk to health, or even to life, their dental care is of vital importance.

Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the oral health status of children suffering from different types of heat ailments.

Design: The study was a cross-sectional descriptive study, and it was conducted in three paediatric cardiology clinics. The clinic at the Kenyatta National Hospital, Gertrude’s Garden Children’s Hospital and Mater Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. A total of 81 children were examined, and their mean age of the children was 8.16±2.81 years; males were 44(54.3%) while females were 37(45.7%). The prevalence of dental caries in the deciduous teeth was 65.57%, and in permanent teeth, it was 40%. The mean dmft was 2.85±3.45. The oral hygiene status was poor with mean plaque score of 1.72±0.59 (n=81) with the majority of the children having fair oral hygiene 37(45.7%) and poor oral hygiene 36(44.4%).

Conclusion: The mean dmft of the children examined was 2.85 (±3.45 SD) which reflected unmet treatment needs among these children. Also, these carious teeth acted as loci for the dislodgement of bacteria into the bloodstream during mastication or tooth brushing, and this increased the risk of the child developing sun acute bacterial endocarditis. The children with poor oral hygiene were at risk of bacteraemia and development of subacute bacterial endocarditis and development of new carious lesions.

Keywords: Caries; Children; Cardiac diseases

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