Knowledge and practices of oral health on hospitalized children with cancer

• Published in: Ciência & saude coletiva Vol. 15; pp. 1113 - 1122
• Main Authors: Barbosa, Aline May, Ribeiro, Dayane Machado, Caldo-Teixeira, Angela Scarparo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Portuguese
• Published: Rio de Janeiro Associação Brasileira de Saúde Coletiva 01-06-2010
• Subjects: Cancer; Hospitalization; Oncology; Oral hygiene
• ISSN: 1413-8123; 1678-4561
• DOI: 10.1590/S1413-81232010000700019

The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and practices of oral health (OH) in hospitalized children with cancer. The sample was composed by the nurse team, caretakers and children. It was applied a questionnaire concerning the general knowledge about OH, methods and instruments used for oral hygiene (OH). According to the results, the responsible of OH of children are the caretakers (90.7%) who receive instructions from the nurse team in 21.4% of cases. As for the oral cavity discomfort, the nurse team reported that all patients exhibited clinical manifestations while the caretakers reported a different number, 62.8% of cases. All participants considered important having a dentist in the oncology sector. According to the results obtained, it was possible to conclude that there is no oral health protocol for hospitalized children with cancer and that the most frequent oral manifestations among patients going through antineoplastic treatment were: mucositis, nausea, vomit, xerostomy and lack of sense of taste.