Dental and periodontal health status in children affected by cystic fibrosis in a southern Italian region.

The aim of this study was to record the oral health status through the mean value of the DMFT/dmft index, the CPITN values and the DDE modified index in children affected by cystic fibrosis (CF).Observational study.A group of 54 CF patients, aged 7 to 12 years, was selected and their data were compared to those of the same age healthy control group of 101 children.CF patients showed a mean DMFT (1.5 +/- 2.17) and dmft (0.42 +/- 0.9) significantly lower than control subjects (respectively 3.70 +/- 3.92 and 2.96 +/- 3.30). Moreover, in the CF subjects a high prevalence (55.6%) of enamel defects and a better periodontal health were found, despite the low presence of calculus in both groups.The low caries experience and the high prevalence of enamel defects in CF patients could be due to the metabolic disease, and above all to the long-term pharmacological therapies (antibiotics and pancreatic enzymes) that they take.