To describe the prevalence of oral lesions and dental caries status in perinatally HIV-infected children.
Design: A cross-sectional study.
Setting: Paediatric HIV outpatient department at the Nakornping Provincial Hospital, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Patients and methods: Forty children with perinatal HIV infection, from early infancy to 12 years of age, were included in the study. These children were examined for oral lesions and dental caries. A number of children receiving antifungal and antiretroviral (ART) therapy were recorded.
Results: The mean DMFT and DMFS scores were both 2.1 (SD = 2.3). The dft and dfs scores were 4.1 (SD = 5.0) and 10.9 (SD = 14.8), respectively. A total of 57.5% of the children had one or more oral lesions. Oral candidiasis and hairy leukoplakia were the most common oral lesions. Only 12.5% of children had received ART. A total of 22.5% of the children had a history of receiving antifungal therapy.
Conclusions: Oral lesions and dental caries were relatively high in this study. Consequently, treatment and prevention for oral lesions and dental caries are inevitably required for children with HIV infection in Northern Thailand. Furthermore, ART should be made available for all HIV-infected children to decrease the prevalence of HIV-associated oral lesions.