Evaluation of oral health status and oral disorders of children with autism spectrum disorders by gender

Abstract

AimThe aim of this study was to evaluate whether there is a relationship between gender and oral health status of children with autism spectrum disorders (CASD). Material-methodsThe study was carried out with 348 children. The children were separated into two groups to evaluate the prevalence of caries and to assess oral disorders in terms of gender. The following factors were evaluated: mean dmft (decayed missed filled permanent tooth in primary dentition), mean DMFT (decayed missed filled permanent tooth in permanent dentition), plaque index, caries prevalence scores, dental crowding, open bite, deep palate, drooling of saliva, tongue thrusting habit, bruxism, dental and soft tissue trauma, tooth wear, delayed eruption, and hypodontia. ResultsThe results showed that the mean dmft in boys with CASD (BCASD) was lower than the mean dmft in healthy boys. The mean dmft of the girls with CASD (GCASD) was also lower than that of the healthy girls. The prevalence of dental caries and mean DMFT in GCASD were higher than those of BCASD in permanent dentition. While the plaque index value of BCASD was higher than that of healthy boys, the plaque index value of GCASD was lower than that of healthy girls. The plaque index value of BCASD was higher than that of GCASD. GCASD were reported to have significantly more bruxism than their healthy counterparts. However, no statistically significant difference was found between BCASD and healthy boys regarding bruxism. Moreover, there was no significant difference between BCASD and GCASD in terms of bruxism. Drooling of saliva in BCASD was less than GCASD. ConclusionThere were significant gender differences between CASD and healthy children in terms of dental caries and oral disorders in this study. There were also significant differences regarding dental caries and oral disorders between GCASD and BCASD.