Background: The difference between dental age (DA) and chronological age (CA) indicates an advance or delay in comparison with the normal standard. Considering that DA has a very close correlation with CA in a developing child, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between the effects of antiretroviral therapy on the development of HIV positive children, by observing the timing of dental mineralization.
Methods: A retrospective examination was made of the medical records and dental panoramic radiographs of 50 HIV-positive pediatric patients, aged 37-168 months of age. Through these radiographs, their DA was estimated and compared with their CA.
Results: The mean DA was significantly lower than the mean CA in the entire studied sample (P < 0.01). There was a statistical difference between children who received antiretroviral drugs and those who used no drugs (P = 0.02), i.e. the non-treated individuals presented practically no difference between CA and DA, while the treated patients showed a difference of 10.67 months.
Conclusion: We conclude that the DA of HIV infected children was delayed when compared to the CA, and there was a positive association between the use of antiretroviral therapy and a delay in the chronology of dental mineralization in the sample.