Knowledge, attitudes and status of oral health in children at risk for infective endocarditis.

The purpose of this study was to assess the oral health status of 104 children (2-17 years of age) at risk for infective endocarditis attending the Paediatric Cardiology Service of the Martagão Gesteira Institute of Child Care and Paediatrics, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and their guardians' attitudes towards and knowledge about endocarditis risks. A structured interview was carried out with guardians and an oral examination was performed on each child to determine scores for the plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI) and dmft/DMFT index. The percentage of guardians who understood the meaning of 'heart infection' was 9.6%, who knew the possibility of heart disease caused by dental procedures was 60.6%, who understood the requirement for antibiotic cover before dental treatment was 72.1%, and who understood the importance of good oral health to prevent infective endocarditis was 41.3%. As regards oral health behaviours, 46.1% of children brushed their teeth three times or more a day, 28.8% had never visited a dentist before, and only 24.3% attended the dentist for prevention. There was visible plaque in 98% and gingival bleeding in 99% of children in this study. The caries experience for primary dentition (dmft) was 2.62%, and 3.97 for permanent dentition (DMFT). Based on these results, we can conclude that the guardians' knowledge and attitudes about oral health were not good. This group at risk has poor oral health, which may give rise to a frequent bacteraemia under physiological conditions.