The importance of the OHI-S for children with premature tooth loss

Abstract

In spite of all the methods of prevention, there still are untreated or improperly treated caries and it’s followed by complications. This often leads to premature loss of teeth. The premature loss of the deciduous teeth depends on different factors such as oral hygiene, traumas, complicated caries. The aim of this study is to compare the OHI-S between children with premature loss and those without premature loss of deciduous teeth. Subject of the monitoring of the clinical research were 140 children between ages 6 and 9. The clinical group consisted of 90 children with prematurely extracted teeth, divided into three groups. The control group consisted of 50 children with intact denture. The oral hygiene status was examined and registered by the Greene-Vermillion index-simplified. There was a statistically significant difference in the OHI-S between the control group (1.86±0.05) and the clinical groups (1.90±0.08 and 2.01±0.05). The children with premature extraction of the primary teeth had higher OHI-S compared to the control group (children without premature extraction of teeth). The third group of children, with prematurely extracted temporary teeth and severe orthodontic deformation, have the highest OHI-S. These results demonstrate the connection between OHI, the orthodontic deformations and the need for prevention.