Oral health evaluation in special needs individuals

OBJECTIVE: To identify the prevalence of the main oral problems present in special needs children and to relate the underlying conditions with the clinical and demographic variables. METHODS: The study was based on the physical examination of 47 students from the Associação de Pais e Amigos dos Excepcionais diagnosed as Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and intellectual deficit. For data collection, we used a self-administered questionnaire that included indices of dental caries and oral hygiene, Angle classification, malposition of dental groups and oral hygiene habits. RESULTS: The predominant age group was 12-25 years (46.8%) and most patients were male (55.3%). Regarding daily brushing, 63.8% reported brushing their teeth three times a day, and 85.1% did it by themselves. A total of 48.9% were rated as Angle class I, and 25.5% had no type of malocclusion. A high dental carries index (decayed, missing, filled >10) was observed in 44.7%, and 53.2% had inadequate oral hygiene (zero to 1.16). There was a statistically significant difference between cerebral palsy and the act of the participants brushing their teeth by themselves. CONCLUSION: There was a high decayed-missing-filled teeth index and malocclusion class I, as well as inadequate oral hygiene. The type of underlying condition of the participants influenced the act of brushing teeth by themselves.