Oral Health Status Among Disabled Children in Special Schools, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia / Монголын Анагаах Ухаан

ABSTRACT

Objective: The purpose of this study was to establish oral health status among disabled children aged 6-12 years in 6 special schools in Ulaanbaatar. Methods: 428 children with disabilities (cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, mental retardation, blind and hearing disorders) participated in this study. Boys were 50.4%, girls were 49.6% and mean age were 9.921.76. Clinical examination was performed by using a dental mirror and revealed the presence of dental caries, missing (extracted) and fi lled teeth. Each tooth was examined and scored based on the WHO standard (WHO, 1997). The periodontal status was evaluated according to CPI (Community Periodontal Index). The oral hygiene was evaluated according to Green-Vermillion method (1964) values. Results: The dental caries prevalence of all disabled children was 88.3% and average dmft values were 5.714.54 in deciduous teeth, 5.733.72 in mixed dentition and 3.142.81 in permanent teeth. The periodontal status of all children was 70% bleeding after probing and 7% calculus deposit. The oral hygiene was 10% good, 37% fair and 53% poor. Conclusion: This study showed high caries prevalence and DMFT, dmft index and periodontal disease. The oral hygiene index was poor among disabled children in Ulaanbaatar comparing to general population. The main component of DMFT and dmft was decayed teeth, which suggest special oral health promotion policy and urgent treatment, diagnosis and special dental care.