Risk factors for dental caries among children with cerebral palsy in a low‐resource setting

Abstract

Early oral health preventive care is required for children with CP because dental caries is highly prevalent in these children.

Oral Health in Children with Cerebral Palsy

“…Studies have shown that the prevalence of caries experience was higher in individuals who cleaned their teeth less than once a day than those whose teeth were cleaned at least once a day [13]. For this reason, tooth brushing twice a day can provide an effective maintenance of the oral cavity.…”

“…This phenomenon has been evaluated by studies in Brazil, Bangladesh, and Japan. Determinations were made on the effects of oral health care access and dental caries progression in LMIC [3,13,16]. Results displayed that progression of dental caries was reduced once handicapped children participated in the funded rehabilitative programs of oral health professionals [16].…”

“…Children with increased motor impairments of GMFCS IV-V have worse outcomes in difficulty eating, drinking, and chewing firm foods, thereby subjecting parents and guardians to administer alternative food consistencies and frequent snacking between meals for nourishment. However, several studies have reported that these factors contribute to the high incidence of caries and periodontal disease in those with CP [13]. Thus, elements of dietary control and feeding habits will be investigated to deduce the cause of the high dental caries incidence, in order to determine which oral hygiene practices and nutrition should be suggested for this population to obtain an optimal level of oral health.…”

“…The high and frequent sugar intake constructs this population to be highly susceptible to food cariogenicity. Thus, parents should be able to associate that a frequency in snacking of more than one time/day increases the dental caries experience [13]. If the child is dependent on nonsolid food intake, these products must have minimal refined sugars.…”

Avaliação do conhecimento e percepção da importância de saúde bucal pelos estudantes de odontologia

“…15 Essa dificuldade em exercer práticas participativas e dialógicas, com os pacientes, em educação em saúde, pode ser reflexo da própria formação acadêmica dos profissionais de saúde, que geralmente é pautada em metodologias de ensino-aprendizagem centradas no professor, fazendo que se reproduza nos serviços o mesmo modelo pedagógico que eles foram formados. 16,17 Sendo assim, a maneira como os futuros profissionais adquirem os conhecimentos necessários às suas práticas clínicas e educativas revela a influência do meio acadêmico como também de aspectos sociais, políticos, culturais e econômicos. A principal fonte de informações da população acerca do tema saúde bucal e a maneira adequada de prevenção dos problemas bucais, em diferentes países, é o cirurgião-dentista, representando 57%, 90%, 82,3%, 35,9%, 78% e 39,3%, respectivamente, em pesquisas realizadas por Glasrud, Frazier (1988), 18 23 A principal fonte de orientação sobre higiene bucal, entre alunos do primeiro ano, foi de origem familiar (70%).…”