Evaluation of Oral and Dental Health Findings in Children with Hemophilia

Objective: This study aims to compare the dental caries, plaque accumulation, gingival health, and oral hygiene habits of children with hemophilia to those of systemically healthy children of the same age group. Method: Our study consists of a study group of 54 male children with hemophilia, with a mean age of 7.80±3.18 years, and a control group of 55 healthy male children, with a mean age of 8.20±2.63 years. A case report form was used to assess patients’ demographics, medical and dental history, and oral hygiene habits. In addition to an intraoral examination, data related to oral hygiene, including caries indices [decayed, missing, filled teeth (DMFT/dmft) gingival index (GI), and plaque index (PI), were recorded in the case report form. Results: The dmft score of the control group was found to be significantly higher than that of the study group. However, the DMFT score did not show a significant difference between the groups. The GI score did not exhibit a significant difference between the groups either. The PI score of the control group was found to be significantly higher than that of the study group. No significant difference was observed between the two groups in terms of oral hygiene habits. Conclusion: Children with hemophilia are a special patient group at risk in terms of oral and dental health. Awareness should be raised among patients and their parents to ensure preventive dental treatments and regular dental check-ups from an early age.