Orofacial and systemic manifestations in 212 paediatric HIV patients from Chennai,South India

International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry 2010; 20: 276–282 Background. Lesions in the mouth and in other tissues and organs (oral and systemic lesions) in paediatric HIV infection are diverse and show differences in clinical presentation and severity from that of adults. Very little data exist for oral lesions in paediatric population in India. Aim. To document and study oral and more widespread lesions in paediatric HIV seropositive patients. Design. A cross‐sectional study. Setting. Paediatric HIV seropositive patients at tertiary centers: Ragas Dental College and Hospital and YRG CARE, Chennai, India. Patients and methods. Two hundred and twelve paediatric HIV patients aged 0–14 years seen over a period of 1 year were included in the study. Clinical history, oral and systemic examinations were recorded by qualified dental surgeons and physicians. Results. One hundred and thirty‐two patients had oral lesions ranging in number from one to three. Oral lesions included oral candidiasis (OC) (56.1%), gingivitis (10.8%), oral pigmentation (6.1%), depapillation of the tongue (5.7%), ulcers (4.2%), and oral hairy leukoplakia (1.4%). The most common systemic lesion observed was nonspecific lymphadenopathy (74.1%) followed by pruritic eruptions (53.8%), measles (51.4%), and tuberculosis (TB) (49.1%). Thirty‐three (26%) patients were not immunosuppressed, 74 (58%) were moderately immunosuppressed, and 20 (15%) were severely immunosuppressed. Oral lesions exhibited positive correlation with lesions in other parts of the body. Conclusion. Oral lesions are a common feature in paediatric HIV infection. Their management is vital to improve the quality of life of the infected children.     

Mineral trioxide aggregate in paediatric dentistry

Objective.  The aim of this study was to present a review of the reported literature on: (i) the physical and chemical properties; and (ii) clinical applications of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) in the practice of paediatric dentistry.
Method.  Electronic literature search of scientific papers from January 1993 to June 2008 was carried out on the MEDLINE, Embase, Entrez Pubmed, and Scopus databases using specific key words. The search yielded 448 papers, out of which 100 were identified as conforming to the applied criteria. These papers formed the basis of the review and the clinical scenarios presented which demonstrate the application of MTA in the practice of paediatric dentistry.
Conclusion.  Paediatric dentists have successfully employed MTA in a variety of endodontic/restorative applications since the late 1990s. Clinical impressions have generally been favourable and support the findings of laboratory and animal-based investigations. Very few clinical studies have been reported so far in humans, and although these have been positive, the body of research is currently insufficient to enable a meaningful systematic review and meta-analysis.