The oral health of children considered very high risk for infective endocarditis

Background. Children with previous experience of infective endocarditis or with prosthetic heart valve are considered at very high risk for infective endocarditis.

Aim. The aim of this study was to compare the dental health of a group of these children with a group of healthy controls and to determine parental awareness of the importance of good oral health.

Design. Oral examination was carried out in 28 children with previous infective endocarditis or a prosthetic heart valve to assess oral health. Findings were compared to a healthy control group of 28. Questionnaires were distributed to the parents to assess awareness of oral health.

Results. There was no significant difference in DMFT scores of study and control group (2.43 +/- 3.72 and 1.36 +/- 2.5 respectively) or in DMFT scores of study and control group (1.5 +/- 1.73 and 1.15 +/- 1.42 respectively), 36% of the study group had untreated caries. Parental knowledge of the link between oral health and infective endocarditis was excellent.

Conclusions. There were no significant differences between the oral health of cardiac children and healthy children although the dmft and DMFT scores of the study group were high. Of concern was the proportion of children with untreated caries in spite of good dental awareness and attendance.