Oral health status of children with developmental disabilities in the Republic of Moldova

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate prevalence of caries and oral hygiene status of children with different disabilities in the Republic of Moldova. Material and methods: A case control study on disabled children was conducted between 2011 and 2014. Two groups of randomly selected children aged 1-18 years old were examined. The first group comprised 2315 children with disabilities and the second (control) group included 2358 healthy children. Clinical data on dental caries were collected according to the World Health Organization index criteria. The following indices have been estimated: prevalence index (PI) of dental caries, and DMFT index. The degree of oral hygiene was evaluated according to the OHI-S index values. The study was conducted in compliance with ethical requirements. SPSS program was used for statistical analysis. Results: Significant differences were noted in the frequency of dental caries among subjects with disabilities and their healthy controls (p<0.001). Dental caries was present in 79.39±0.9% of children with disabilities compared with 56.49±1.0% of children (t=12.9; p<0.001) from the control group. The probability of dental caries in the group of disabled children is 3 times higher (OR=3.04. 95% CI: 2.7- 3.4) than in children without disabilities. The values of OHI-S index ranged between 3.8 and 4.53 in disabled children and between 2.73-2.84 in healthy children. To reduce dental caries and periodontal diseases ”The oral health programme in children with disabilities and specialeducational needs” was worked out, it having been implemented since 2012. Conclusion: The results revealed a significantly poor level of oral hygiene and a quite high level of caries prevalence in both disabled and healthy children, emphasizing the need to reorganize preventive care measurements and improve dental care, particularly in disabled children in the Republic of Moldova. The results of this study will be used to select the methods and remedies for prevention of dental caries in children with disabilities.