Prevalence of caries in special children and the awareness of parents towards their oral health care
Journal Title: International Journal of Medical Science and Innovative Research (IJMSIR) - Year 2018, Vol 3, Issue 3
Abstract
Children with Special Healthcare Needs (CSHN) are defined by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau as ‘‘Those who have one or more chronic physical, developmental, behavioral or emotional conditions and who also require health and related services of a type or amount beyond that required by children generally.’’1 CSHN pose a greater risk for health problems and need additional help and rely heavily on the care takers for maintaining a good overall health including oral health. CSHN have marked oral pathologies which could be due to their actual disability or because of other medical (eg: medicines with high sugar content) or economic conditions, self mutilating behaviors or because of their parents inability to carry out their oral hygiene measures efficiently.2, 3 An oral health problem should be suspected in a child if they exhibit signs like grinding of teeth, refusal or intake of softer foods, touching in or around the mouth, teeth, jaws and cheeks, halitosis or discoloration of teeth.4 Dental caries is usually found in children with developmental disabilities. These children have poor eating habits mainly comprising of soft and sticky food. Also their inability to chew properly and presence of dysphagia in several children interferes with the mastication of hard and fibrous food items. This eventually leads to plaque accumulation and caries initiation. 5 However, the most important risk factor for dental caries in disabled children is poor oral hygiene and inadequate tooth brushing. Several studies and surveys have shown that CSHN fail to receive oral health care primarily due to negligence by the guardians and also because oral health is given the least priority owing to the debilitating general and mental health.6 Also very few studies have been conducted in Mangalore which evaluates the oral health status of the special children and the awareness about oral health among the parents of these children. Hence the aim of our study was to assess the prevalence of caries in children with special health care needs in an institution and the assessment of parental awareness about oral health.
Authors and Affiliations
Dr. Yerra Anusha
Keywords
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