A cross sectional study to evaluate the oral health status of children with intellectual disabilities in the National Capital Region of India (Delhi‐NCR)

Abstract

Children with intellectual disabilities (ID) have usually been reported to have poorer levels of oral hygiene and higher prevalence of dental caries than their compeers. The present study was conducted to assess the status of dental caries and oral hygiene in different categories of institutionalised children with ID (syndromic and non-syndromic) registered in various special schools of Delhi (National Capital Region, India). The present cross sectional study was conducted on 269 children [52 with cerebral palsy (CP), 35 with Down syndrome (DS), 30 with autism and 152 with non-syndromic intellectual disability] attending nine special schools who were examined for dental caries [Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth index for permanent teeth (DMFT); decayed, missing/indicated for extraction, filled index for primary teeth (dmft) and prevalence of caries] and oral hygiene status [Oral Hygiene Index-simplified (OHI-S)]. The levels of disability were classified according to Stanford Binet scale as severe (IQ≤35), moderate (IQ = 36-51) and mild (IQ=52-67). Statistical analysis was performed using one way analysis of variance and post hoc test to compare the levels between groups at a significance level of P<0.05. Mean DMFT, dmft and OHI-S indices scores for all the children irrespective of the category and the level of ID were 2.12±1.95, 0.97±1.60 and 2.05±1.07, respectively. As the level of ID increased among these children, the mean DMFT index and OHI-S index increased with no significant effect on dmft. However, children with severe ID had higher OHI-S and DMFT scores than children with mild or moderate ID. The dental caries prevalence was 86.53%, 68.57%, 76% and 86.18% in children with CP, DS, autism and non-syndromic intellectual disability, respectively. The level of caries in permanent teeth and oral hygiene deteriorated with the increasing severity of ID as indicated by DMFT and OHI-S scores (severe>mild, moderate). However, the level of caries (dmft) was not affected by the level of ID in primary dentition. The prevalence of dental caries was highest among children with CP and least among children with DS.