Correlation between CD4 Count and Dental Caries in HIV-seropositive Children Undergoing Antiretroviral Therapy

Background: India has the third-largest HIV epidemic in the world. According to the UNAIDS Gap report 2016, 2.1 million people were living with HIV and approximately 43% of Indian adults with the virus have access to antiretroviral treatment. Even though antiretroviral therapy (ART) use has reduced the prevalence of oral manifestations, there is an increase in the prevalence of dental diseases, mainly due to the chronic influence of some factors involved in the process of HIV infection. Among them are the prolonged use of sugary products, changes in salivary flow, etc. The aim of the present study was to assess the association of CD4 count with dental caries in HIV-seropositive patients receiving ART. Methods: A descriptive study was conducted. Demographic details and recent CD4 counts were recorded. For dental caries, the decayed, missing, filled teeth (DMFT) index was used. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Pearson correlation was used to correlate CD4 count with dental caries. Results: Caries showed a strong positive correlation of 1.0 but were not found to be statistically significant ( p-value = 0.8). Conclusion: The study findings showed that there is a close relationship between oral health and general health in children living with HIV, and it highlights the significance of advocate policies on oral health among children living with HIV.