BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The relationship between antiretroviral medication and the risk of dental caries is not clear cut. Conflicting results have been reported in adults. Whereas, Glick et al, 1998 reported an association between antiretroviral medication and increased risk of dental caries, Bretz et al, 2000 reported a lower prevalence. There is a paucity of data on children. The purpose of this study was to compare dental caries status among children on HAART and those not on HAART METHODS: Data was collected from 222 beneficiaries of a dedicated oral and dental program between 2005 and 2006 at outpatient HIV clinics of academic hospitals in Pretoria. Clinical data was collected using the WHO Oral Health Surveys Basic Methods (WHO, 1997). The Fisher's Exact and the Mann-Whitney test was used for statistical comparisons of the study groups. Data relating to HAART regimen and duration of use was unavailable RESULTS: The mean age of the children was 4 years with a range of 1 to 14 years. Just over two thirds (69.8%) were six years and under. Girls constituted 53%.Caries prevalence was significantly higher (63.2%) in children on HAART compared to those not on HAART (41.5%).For both the permanent and primary teeth, the decayed component (D/d) made up the major part of the DMFT/dmft, followed by the missing (M/m) component. No fillings were recorded in either the primary or permanent teeth for both groups. There was insufficient evidence (p>0.05) of a difference in the distribution of DMFT and the D, M, F components. There was, however, strong evidence of a difference in the distribution of dmft (p<0.0001) and d (p<0.0001) component among children on HAART and those not on HAART.
CONCLUSION: An increased prevalence and severity of dental caries was observed in children receiving HAART.