Evaluation of the teeth and jaw deformities in children with special health needs

Abstract

Introduction: Special needs children (SNC) are a public health concern and need specific oral care. Globally, SNC have a significantly higher prevalence of teeth and jaw deformities (TJD). The malocclusions are often related to dental trauma, which immensely complicates the dental status of these children (e.g. big protrusion of the incisors is a predisposition for inflicting traumatic harm); create functional problems (e.g. masticatory function, saliva ejection); speech impediment and dysfunction of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). The data in Bulgaria regarding SNC and their oral health is scarce. Aim: The aim of this article is to determine the relative share of SNC among the treated at the University Medico-Dental Centre (UMDC) patients, who have teeth and jaw deformities. Materials and М ethods: In the period January 2015-December 2019, 402 children with late mixed dentition and special health needs were included in a longitudinal clinical research. Teeth and jaw deformities were rare to be observed. The results were statistically evaluated using descriptive statistics, comparisons between groups were analyzed by non-parametric χ 2 test with IBM SPSS v.20.0. Results: Teeth and jaw deformities were diagnosed in 231 (57.5%) of SNC , and a significant difference was determined between children with and without malocclusions for different conditions (р<0.001). Children with mental retardation had the highest relative share of malocclusions (75%), while children with cerebral palsy had the lowest – 44.1%. In the analysis of the type of malocclusion, there was a significant difference among the children with different conditions (р<0.01). Conclusion: SNC experience predominantly teeth and jaw deformities, which means that individualized care for their oral health has to be focused not only on treating dental caries and its complications, but on prophylaxis and treatment of orthodontic problems as well.