Abstract
Aim: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a descriptive term covering a number of conditions with various degrees of severity. The development of an early diagnostic procedure for better management of cerebral palsy is necessary for various medical and dental applications (Mani et al.,2015). The aim of this study was to determine oral health status of a group of Turkish children with CP who were aged between 4 and 18 years. The study was thus designed to improve the understanding of the oral and dental aspects, socio- economic factors and their relationship to oral health status of CP in paediatric patients.
Methods: Oral findings in a group of 60 children suffering from CP were compared with those from an age and sex matched control group consisting of 60 individuals, who had no systemic diseases. Oral health status was determined by collecting data on dental caries, oral debris, gingival health, saliva (buffering and ph) by using specific tests and indices. Medical and dental history and socio-economic status were assessed for each subject. The results were statistically tested using the Mann Whitney U test. The Marmara University ethics committee approved the study and parental consent to take part was obtained for each subject..
Results: Sixty one (50.8%) male and 59 (49.2%) female children and adolescents were examined. No statistically significant differences were found in the means for: DMFT (CP group:1.85±1.86 and control group:1.37±1.82; (p= 0.158), or dmft (CP group 5.3±4.89 and control group 4.04±3.750, (p:0.235). The mean Debris Index in the CP group was 62.42±26.92 and in the control group 59.77±25.31; (p= 0.539). The mean scores for the Gingival Bleeding Index of Gjermo and Moe (1983) were: CP group 0.8±2.73 and control group 0.62±1.77; (p = 0.453). For saliva buffering capacity the mean scores were CP group 4.5±2.75 and control group 4.91±2.33; (p= 0.469). The mean value for saliva ph was lower in the CP group that in the control group (p=0.006).
Conclusions: In the population studied those with CP had a greater risk of developing oral and dental pathologies than those from the control group, drawn from the general population. In order to improve the oral health status of children with CP there is a need for caregivers to undertake education in preventive dentistry and to help those with CP to maintain oral health.
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