Background: The bleeding tendency and fear of bleeds may have a negative effect on preventive dental care of patients with haemophilia both at home and at dental appointments.
Aim: To describe the clinical practice of dental care in children with haemophilia in Helsinki, Finland.
Methods: This study evaluated retrospectively the medical records of 28 paediatric patients with haemophilia (aged 5.3-17.4 years) from dental visits during 2009-2010. Decayed, missing and filled teeth in the primary (dmft) and permanent dentition (DMFT), Community Periodontal Index (CPI), signs of developmental dental defects in enamel and the number of preventive and restorative procedures were gathered. Dmft + DMFT scores were compared with those of 17,079 non-haemophiliac boys. The Mann-Whitney U-test was used to compare the data between the groups of different severity of haemophilia.
Results: The median number of dental visits per patient was three (range 1-11). Twenty-two patients (79 %) had dmft + DMFT-scores within the 95 % reference range for age. None of the children had a CPI >2. Twelve (43 %) patients had developmental enamel defects. Half had received restorative dental care and three out of four preventive procedures.
Conclusions: Dental care during hospital visits in children with haemophilia may enhance confidence in the preventive dental care and help minimise bleeding during dental procedures.