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Oral Health of Children with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
NABILA AHMED, AGNÈS BLOCH-ZUPAN, KEVIN J. MURRAY, MARY CALVERT, GRAHAM J. ROBERTS, and VICTORIA S. LUCAS
ABSTRACT. Methods. Indices were recorded for dental caries, bacterial dental plaque, gingival inflammation, and TMJ dysfunction in children with JIA and matched controls. Results. There was no significant difference in dental caries experience or the mean plaque score between children with JIA and controls. The mean gingivitis score for the permanent teeth only was significantly greater in the JIA children compared with the controls (p = 0.02). There was a significantly greater proportion of children with JIA with signs of both left and right TMJ dysfunction (p = 0.05, p = 0.02) and symptoms (p = 0.0001, p = 0.0001) compared with controls. Conclusion. The low caries rate was attributed to the fact that children with JIA had received preventive dental care from an early age combined with sugar free medication. (J Rheumatol 2004; 31:1639-43) Key Indexing Terms:
JUVENILE IDIOPATHIC ARTHRITIS From the Department of Rheumatology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and the Department of Paediatric Dentistry, Eastman Dental Hospital, London, United Kingdom. N. Ahmed, MClinDent, Postgraduate; A. Bloch-Zupan, PhD, Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant, Department of Paediatric Dentistry, Eastman Dental Institute For Oral Health Care Sciences; M. Calvert, MSc, FDS, RCS, Lead Clinician, Maxillofacial and Dental Department, Great Ormond Street Hospital For Children; K.J. Murray, MBBS, FRACP, Consultant Rheumatologist, Rheumatology Department, Princess Margaret Hospital, Perth, Australia, formerly Department of Rheumatology, Great Ormond Street Hospital For Children; G.J. Roberts, PhD, FDS, RCS, Professor, Department of Paediatric Dentistry; V.S. Lucas, PhD, Senior Clinical Research Fellow, Department of Oral Medicine, Eastman Dental Institute and Dental Department, The Great Ormond Street Hospital For Children. Address reprint requests to Dr. V.S. Lucas, Department of Oral Medicine, Eastman Dental Institute, University College London, London WC1X 8LD, UK. E-mail: v.lucas@eastman.ucl.ac.uk Submitted August 11, 2003; revision accepted January 21, 2004. |