Abstract

To evaluate the dental status of children with acute lymphocytic leukemia in their first remission, we divided 41 children into age groups in accordance with the National Dental Health Survey. We used the DMF (decayed, missing, filled) index to evaluate dental disease and status of oral hygiene. The study groups had higher DMFs (2.2 vs 1.4), more decayed teeth (4.2 vs 1.7), and fewer filled (1.5 vs 3.8) teeth than the national average. There is no direct evidence that antileukemic therapy causes dental decay per se, but the level of oral hygiene may be substandard in children with acute lymphocytic leukemia.