Buccodental health and oral mucositis: Clinical study in patients with hematological diseases

objectives: the objective of the present study is to assess whether a good buccodental status (evaluated by means of dentogingival indices), is associated with a lower incidence and severity of oral mucositis in patients with hematological diseases who receive treatment with chemotherapy or bone marrow transplant. study design: the study was carried out on 97 patients admitted to the hematology service of the hospital duran y reynals in barcelona during 2002-2003. these patients received treatment with chemotherapy or conditioning prior to bone marrow transplant. a descriptive study was made, analyzing oral hygiene, one dental index, and two gingivales indices, and evaluating their relationship with the appearance of mucositis. results: the patients with high plaque (pi) and gingival (gi) indices during chemotherapy presented a higher percentage of mucositis (77.4% and 65.7% respectively) against those who had little or no visible plaque. in the case of the pi, the differences were statistically significant (p=0.015). likewise, patients who brushed their teeth 3 times/day presented mucositis in only 26.7% of cases, against those who did not brush, or brushed only once a day (65.9% and 68.4%), these differences also being statistically significant (p=0.013). the cao showed similar results in patients with or without mucositis (7.59 and 7.03 respectively). conclusions: in our study, a good gingival status as well as good oral hygiene during chemoradiotherapy is associated with a lower incidence and severity of mucositis.