Dental Problems in Adult Patients with Sickle Cell Disease

Introduction

Previous studies of children with SCD have shown developmental problems occurring in the enamel and dentin. Mucosal pallor, delayed eruption, dental hypoplasia, and radiographic changes are also common oral finding in patients with SCD. Preventive dental therapy is the ideal approach for management of patients with SCD. We surveyed a sample of our adult patients with SCD to determine the prevalence of patient reported dental problems, including existing "bad tooth", and tooth. We also investigated the prevalence of dental insurance that pays for regular dental exams.

Methods:

We have surveyed 74% of the IRB approved 100 patient sample and gathered the above mentioned information. We collected data on dental insurance, last dental exam, number of adult teeth removed, and patient self-assessment of bad teeth, tooth abscess and number of past episodes of either.

Results

Mean age was 33 years. There were 34 males and 40 females. Seventy percent (52/74) did not have dental insurance. Forty-two percent (31/74) have not had a dental exam within the last 12 months. Twenty-two percent (30/74) of patient had two or more adult teeth removed. 46 % reported that they currently have bad tooth and 31 %( 23/74) have now or have had a tooth abscess. 11 patients reported one episode, 9 patients reported 2 episodes and 4 patients reported three or more episodes of tooth abscess.

Conclusion

In our surveyed population of adult patients with SCD, we find a high number of self-reported advanced dental disease and failure to obtain regular dental care. 70 percent of these patients do not have dental insurance for preventive or advanced dental care. We conclude that adequate preventive dental care is an unmet need for the majority of this special population.