| 2058 An Epidemiological Study of Dental Health, Treatment Needs, and Associated Factors in Children with Mental Retardation | ||
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S.-W. HU, C.-T. KAO, and P.-H. LIAO, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan Objective: This study aimed to investigate dental health, treatment needs and utilization of dental services in children with and without mental retardation. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 135 mentally retarded children (MR group) aged 6 to 12 years and enrolled in the special education program and 488 students in the regular program (control group) of seven elementary schools in central Taiwan. These children received a questionnaire for parents to answer and an oral examination by one dentist following the Oral Health Surveys Basic Methods of the World Health Organization. Multiple linear regression and logistic regression analyses were applied to compare outcomes between two groups, controlling for confounding factors. Results: Prevalence of caries (78% vs. 83%) and means of decayed, missing and filled primary teeth (dmft) (2.7 vs. 2.3) and permanent teeth (DMFT) (1.4 vs. 1.5), respectively, were not significantly different between MR and control groups, after adjusting for age, sex and other potential confounders. Among children with caries, the decay component contributed to 59% and 42% of dmft and 46% and 19% of DMFT in MR group and controls, respectively. Needs for one-surface filling was significantly higher in MR group. Utilization of dental service differed significantly between groups. Twenty-one percents of MR group and 6% of controls never visited a dentist. Sixty percents of MR children, compared to 26% of controls, had difficulties seeking dental care. Conclusions: Mentally retarded children and controls had comparable dmft and DMFT, but percentages of the decay component in both indices were significantly higher in MR group than in controls. The finding that twenty-one percents of children in MR group never visited a dentist deserves attention. This study was supported by a grant (NSC 89-2314-B-040-024) from the National Science Council, Taiwan. | ||
| Seq #214 - Caries Prediction, Clinical Trials, Diagnosis 3:45 PM-5:00 PM, Friday, 27 June 2003 Svenska Massan Exhibition Hall B | ||
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