The Oral health status of children with autism Spectrum disorder in KwaZulu-Nata, South Africa

Abstract

BackgroundEchoing the sentiments of the Sixty-seventh World Health Assembly of May 2014, mandating the all-inclusive and synchronized efforts for the management of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the aim of this current study was to investigate the oral health status of children with ASD aged between 7 to 14 years in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.MethodsAn investigative cross-sectional quantitative design employing non-probability purposeful sampling was conducted on 149 children with ASD attending special needs schools in KwaZulu-Natal. An intra-oral examination to investigate decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT/dmft), gingival index (GI), and plaque index (PI), attrition and soft tissue trauma using the World Oral Health Survey Form for Children, (2013) was implemented during data collection.ResultsAverage DMFT/dmft scores of 3, 42 and 0, 97 were recorded respectively. Molars dominated the decayed component of the DMFT/dmft with an average caries prevalence of (51, 7% and 40, 8%) respectively. These results displayed zero fillings indicative of unmet treatment needs. The gingival index revealed mild gingival inflammation, (46, 3%) and the plaque index demonstrated visible plaque at (43, 6%).Attrition scores revealed mild loss of dental enamel (47%). The most prevalent soft tissue trauma recorded was lip biting (37, 25%).ConclusionRestorative or preventative treatment measures were not evident in this study. Unmet dental needs are therefore an important concern in this population. Health care planners should develop preventive programs targeted at high risk groups such as this study population.

Oral hygiene education of special needs children. Part 1: children with autism spectrum disorder

“…The results for the oral hygiene status in children with autism are largely controversial, varying from very good to very poor. Several studies have reported good oral hygiene in participants with ASD [9,[26][27][28], but others have indicated poor oral hygiene [29][30][31][32], which was also supported by our results.…”

Oral Health Status of Children with Autism in Central Italy

“…The observed male/female ratio (which is approximately 4:1) is in agreement with values reported by the WHO based on which ASD is 3 to 4 times more frequent in males than in females [1]. The overall caries prevalence in our study is 66.4%, smaller than the one reported in similar studies in South Africa and United Arab Emirates [20,27] (where a prevalence up to 85% was observed) but (more than 20%) larger than the prevalence that appears in other studies for Turkey and India [22]. In terms of caries severity, the average DMFT/dmft score for our sample (2.91) is substantially smaller than the one obtained in comparable studies conducted in Africa [24,27] (where average values of DMFT/dmft of 4.79 and 7.23 have been found), slightly smaller than the one reported in a similar study in Turkey [36] and slightly larger than those obtained in studies on autism in Asian populations [20,21,[36][37][38] (for which an average value between 2.01 and 2.4 has been reported).…”

“…The overall caries prevalence in our study is 66.4%, smaller than the one reported in similar studies in South Africa and United Arab Emirates [20,27] (where a prevalence up to 85% was observed) but (more than 20%) larger than the prevalence that appears in other studies for Turkey and India [22]. In terms of caries severity, the average DMFT/dmft score for our sample (2.91) is substantially smaller than the one obtained in comparable studies conducted in Africa [24,27] (where average values of DMFT/dmft of 4.79 and 7.23 have been found), slightly smaller than the one reported in a similar study in Turkey [36] and slightly larger than those obtained in studies on autism in Asian populations [20,21,[36][37][38] (for which an average value between 2.01 and 2.4 has been reported). We found that both caries prevalence and caries severity have a statistically significant association with the type of diet and the periodontal indices PI and GI of the autistic patient but, contrary to the findings of similar studies [12,[36][37][38], a not statistically significant association with age and gender was found.…”

“…No study of this type is available for Italy. This work is meant as a first step in this direction and it is in line with similar works performed for other countries [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27].…”

“…Normal daily activities, such as tooth brushing as well as understanding the behavior of other individuals, constitute a constant challenge for children affected by ASD [13][14][15][16][17][18]. Several studies indicate that, due to these difficulties in maintaining good oral hygiene and being periodically examined and eventually treated, children with ASD have significantly more untreated caries and a higher prevalence of periodontitis and gingivitis as well as higher values of the total number of decayed, missing, and filled teeth in the primary dentition and in the permanent dentition (denoted by DMFT/dmft) compared to the average population [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. In addition, dental care, for patients with moderate or slight intellectual disorders, requires special procedures and adaptations [28].…”