Oral Health Status of Children with Thalassaemia in Melaka: A Pilot Study

Thalassemia is an inherited disorder that involves abnormal haemoglobin formation. This cross-sectional study with universal sampling was conducted from May 2018 to January 2019 to evaluate the oral health status of children with thalassaemia. The sample consisted of 54 transfusion-dependent patients between the ages of 3–17 years old, who were registered at the paediatric day-care centre of Hospital Melaka. Oral health status was evaluated which included soft tissue examination, recording of dental caries, malocclusion and oral hygiene status of the children, while their parents answered a pre-validated self-administered questionnaire on sociodemographic and oral health practices and attitudes. The mean deft (decayed, exfoliated and filled teeth) among the 3–5 years old was 6.71±6.07. The mean DMFT (decayed, missing and filled teeth) was 3.00±3.94 among the 13–17 years old and 1.12±1.42 among the 6–12 years old. Most of the 3–5 years old children exhibited good oral hygiene (71.4%). Dentofacial findings among the 3–5 years old were increased overjet (35.7%) and open bite (28.6%) predominantly. Fractured teeth (69.2%), increased overjet (46.2%) and discolouration (23.1%) were the common dentofacial findings among the 6–12 years old while increased overjet (71.4%), soft tissue lesions (57.1%) and posterior crossbite (28.6%) were seen among the 13–17 years old. In this cohort of children with thalassaemia, the prevalence of dental caries was high in preschool children and older children.