Abstract

Introduction: Proper occlusion is an important component of overall oral health of a child since malocclusion is associated with oral diseases like dental caries, periodontal diseases and temporal-mandibular disorders. Its impact on facial appearance may adversely affect social interactions and psychological well-being of the child. Children with disabilities overwhelmingly suffer from the impact of malocclusion more than the general population. Paying attention to this condition will lead to an improvement in quality of life of these children. Material and Methods: A cross sectional survey was done among children with disabilities residing in Dar Es Salaam region, Tanzania. Data was collected using structured questionnaires for parents/teachers of the respective school children and clinical examination of malocclusion was done to children using the criteria described by WHO (1997). Results: The study included 384 participants with majority of children being between 12 and 17 years of age: in addition, males composed 60.4% of the sample. Most of the children (69%) had one or more type(s) of malocclusion/s: Children with neuropsychological disabilities were more affected with malocclusion (75.9%) than other group of disabilities. Increased overjet (18.8%) and reverse overjet (6.2%) were both prevalent in neuropsychological disabilities than other groups. In addition, children with neuropsychological disabilities had higher prevalence of open and deep bite, 25% and 10.7%, respectively. Conclusion: Malocclusions were prevalent in a greater proportion of children with disabilities: In particular, those with neuropsychological disabilities had significantly higher prevalence of malocclusion, followed by those with physical and sensory disabilities.

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