S. Gizani et al., ORAL HEALTH CONDITION OF 12-YEAR-OLD HANDICAPPED-CHILDREN IN FLANDERS(BELGIUM), Community dentistry and oral epidemiology, 25(5), 1997, pp. 352-357
Citations number
21
Categorie Soggetti
Dentistry,Oral Surgery & Medicine","Public, Environmental & Occupation Heath
The dental condition of 626 12-year-old handicapped children with mild
mental or moderate to severe mental retardation or learning impairmen
t, being 25% of the population of each of these groups, was examined i
n Flanders. An evaluation of oral cleanliness showed poor oral hygiene
in 31.8% of the children. No significant differences were found in or
al cleanliness among types of handicapping conditions, The mean DMFT s
core was 2.9 (s: 2.6) and DMFS score was 5.4 (s: 5.6). Almost 21% of t
he children were free of caries or fillings. No significant difference
s were found among groups of handicapped children. Handicapped childre
n presented a low level of restorative care (restorative index score:
48.7%). Mildly mentally retarded children demonstrated the lowest rest
orative index (43.9%). The caries experience of first permanent molars
represented the largest part of the DMFT score (64.1%). Sealants were
present in 7.9% of children examined. A considerable percentage of mi
ldly mentally retarded children and learning impaired children did not
brush daily (22.1% and 20.9%) and did not receive help with toothbrus
hing from their parents or carers (91.0% and 94.7%, respectively).