Dental care provided to sickle cell anemia patients stratified by age: A population-based study in Northeastern Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: To assess differences in the dental care provided to sickle cell anemia (SCA) patients depending on age. This retrospective study used secondary data from the dental records of the Center of Hematology and Hemotherapy in Maranhão (HEMOMAR).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were obtained from 574 dental records of patients with SCA treated or under treatment in the Dental Department of HEMOMAR from 2000 to 2011. Data on the gender, age, duration of dental treatment, number of patients submitted to periodontal treatment (PT), number of filled teeth (FT), teeth extracted (EX), endodontically treated teeth (ET), and reason for the dental procedures were collected. The Kruskal-Wallis test together with Dunn's post hoc test, Chi-square test, and Spearman's correlation was used for statistical analysis. An alpha error of 5% was considered acceptable.

RESULTS: Significant differences were found for FT, EX (P < 0.05), ET and PT (P < 0.001) between the age groups. There were fewer FT in children compared to other age groups (P < 0.001). The most common reasons for restorations and endodontic treatment were dental caries (100%) and irreversible pulpitis (55.6%), respectively. The main reasons for teeth extractions were residual roots (21.3%), chronic apical periodontitis (19.7%), and crown destruction (19.3%). There were positive correlations between age and EX (r = 0.93; P = 0.025) and ET (r = 0.92; P = 0.028).

CONCLUSIONS: FT, ET, EX, and PT procedures become more common in older patients. Tooth decay is the main reason for dental treatment in SCA patients.