Karthik Venkataraghavan et al 614 ABSTRACT Introduction: Leukemia is a malignancy of the bone marrow and constitutes 30% of all childhood cancers. The leukemic condition itself and its therapy cause oral signs and symptoms with signifcant morbidity. Aims and objectives: The aim of this study was to review the oral health status in children with leukemia and relate the gingival and periodontal fndings to the changes in their hematological values. Materials and method: The oral health status in 47 pediatric leukemic patients in the age group of 6 to 14 years was asses- sed using the dmft/DMFT index, OHI(S) index and modifed gingival index (MGI). Their hematological reports on the day of examination were obtained. The patients were divided into three groups based on the status of treatment. The relation between the platelet count and the WBC count with the MGI score was checked. Results: The highest dmf and DMF scores were seen in pati- ents who were currently under treatment. Though an inverse relation was seen between the platelet count and the MGI score, a statistically signifcant value was not obtained. Conclusion: A longitudinal follow-up of patients should be carried out in order to establish a relation between the hema- tological parameters and the gingival infammation score. Keywords: Pediatric leukemia, Dental caries, Oral health. How to cite this article: Venkataraghavan K, Majithia U, Choudhary P, Trivedi K, Shah S. Relationship between Oral Health Status and Hematological Values in Pediatric Leukemic Patients: An Evaluative Survey. J Contemp Dent Pract 2014; 15(5):614-617. Source of support: Nil Confict of interest: None ORIGINAL RESEARCH 10.5005/jp-journals-10024-1588 Relationship between Oral Health Status and Hematological Values in Pediatric Leukemic Patients: An Evaluative Survey 1 Karthik Venkataraghavan, 2 Udita Majithia, 3 Prashant Choudhary, 4 Krishna Trivedi, 5 Shalin Shah 1 Professor and Head, 2 Postgraduate Student, 3-5 Senior Lecturer 1,2,4,5 Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry College of Dental Sciences and Research Center, Ahmedabad Gujarat, India 3 Faculty of Dentistry, SEGi University, Malaysia Corresponding Author: Karthik Venkataraghavan, Professor and Head, Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, College of Dental Sciences and Research Centre Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, Phone: +91 98452 58974, e-mail: veekart@yahoo.co.in INTRODUCTION Leukemia is a malignancy of hematologic origin, occurring from either disorganized proliferation or increased life span of white cells (blasts). 1 Leukemia can be classifed basically as lymphoid or myeloid, according to the cell lineage and as acute or chronic, according to the evolution of the disease. 2 Leukemia constitutes for approximately 30% of all child- hood cancers and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common type of malignancy. Nearly, 75% of childhood leukemia are of the ALL type 3. In India, childhood leuke- mia constitutes 2.3% of the cancer patients. Each year 6,000 children in India develop acute lymphoblastic leukemia. 3 The main characteristic of leukemia is the disordered proliferation of immature or undifferentiated cells in bone marrow and with evolution of the disease, peripheral blood. Due to the growing accumulation of blasts other hemat- opoietic cells (erythrocytes, macrophages/monocytes, eosi- nophils, basophils and lymphocytes) are suppressed. As the disease progresses, the excess blast may spread to the bloodstream and infltrate organs and tissues. 2 Also observed are severe reductions in the production of platelets and/or the suppression of the normal red cells, which predisposes patients to experience spontaneous bleeding or hemorrhages. 4 Another change related with leukemia is the increase in the leukocyte count due to an excess amount of blast cells and simultaneous suppression of normal white cells. Once patients have their defenses down, they are at greater risk of developing infections and infammatory context display is differentiated. 4 In this scenario, leukemia has been associated with mani- festations in the oral cavity such as gingival swelling, pete- chiae, ulcerations and gingival bleeding. However, studies evaluating oral manifestations in patients with leukemia available in the literature show limitations. Most studies that have explored this area are retrospective analyses or case reports containing information obtained from patient medical records or verifed by visual inspections of the oral cavity by healthcare professionals. 4 Very few studies have explored the association between gingival and hematological parameters with all of them being carried out in the adult population wherein the chronic complications are more frequently seen. 2,4,5 In the pediatric population where the JCDP