Caries prevalence among HIV-infected children between four and ten years old at a paediatric virology out-patients ward in Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa.

INTRODUCTION: There remains controversy in the literature as to whether children with HIV are at greater risk for caries than healthy children.
OBJECTIVES: To determine the caries prevalence and unmet treatment needs (UTN) in a cohort of HIV+ive children between the ages of four and ten years who were attending the Charlotte Maxeke Paediatric Virology out-patients ward and to compare the results with the data of the National Children's Oral Health Survey (NCOHS).
METHODS: This descriptive, analytic study comprised of a sample of 277 children attending the Paediatric Virology out patients ward at the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital over a one year period. The caries status was measured using WHO guidelines and criteria.
RESULTS: Among the 93 children aged between four and five years, the caries prevalence of the primary dentition was 70.9%; the dmft was 5.1 and the UTN was 99.6%. In the 62 six year olds and 122 seven to ten year olds, the caries prevalence in the primary teeth was 62.9% and 67.2%; the dmft was 4.2 and 4 and the UTN 100% and 87.8% respectively. The mean dmft of the four, five and six year olds was significantly higher than those reported in the NCOHS. The four, five and sx-year old HIV positive children had a 1.4 times higher risk of caries development than children from the general population (p < 0.002).
CONCLUSION: This cohort of HIV-infected children had significantly higher caries prevalence, dmft and UTN than did children from the general population.