3. RESULTS
A total of 99 children were included, of whom 49 (25 girls and 24 boys)
were in the HM group and 50 (24 girls and 26 boys) were healthy
volunteers. The mean age of the entire study group was 78.63 ± 34.41
months. The mean age of the HM and control groups was 87.12 ± 35.04 and
70.95 ± 34.85 months, respectively (p = 0.08). No significant gender
difference was observed between the groups (p = 0.70) Of the children in
the HM group, 41 were diagnosed with ALL, 8 with AML. No significant
difference in the parental education level was observed between the
groups (p = 0.12)The mean DMFT/dmft score was 5.76 ± 5.21 and 7.27 ±
4.98 in the control and HM groups, respectively (p = 0.22). Regarding
the dentition period, 43.3% of the children in the control group had
deciduous dentition and 53.7% had mixed dentition. A total of 26.1% of
the children in the HM group had deciduous dentition, 55.1% had mixed
dentition, and 34.4% had permanent dentition (p = 0.02). Regarding the
occlusion type, 56% of the control group had Class 1 closure, compared
to 95% of the HM group (p = 0.01). According to the SOHI, 46.7%, 30%
and 23.3% of the control group had good, poor and bad oral hygiene,
respectively, compared to 24.1%, 31%, and 44.8% of the HM group. Oral
hygiene was significantly better in the control than HM group (p = 0.04)
(Table 1).
No significant difference in total ECOHIS score was observed between the
groups. Children in the HM group had significantly more mouth-jaw pain
than those in the control group according to the ECOHIS-T (p = 0.05). No
significant differences in eating hot and cold foods, drinking,
speaking, or school attendance were observed between the HM and control
groups (p = 0.60, 0.13, 0.40, and 0.15, respectively). No significant
differences in scores on the items pertaining to psychological
processes, self-perception and social interaction (e.g., falling asleep
due to dental pain and treatment, irritability/restlessness, and fear of
talking) were observed between the groups (p = 0.87, 0.94, and 0.64,
respectively). Hesitancy to smile and laugh was significantly greater in
the HM than in control group (p = 0.035). No significant differences in
discomfort caused by dental problems and treatments, feeling guilty,
taking a break from work, or financial problems were observed between
the groups (p > 0.05) (Table 2).
The DMFT/dmft score was highly correlated with the SOHI and ECOHIS-T
scores (Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient = 0.707 and 0.721,
respectively; Table 3).