A survey on the oral health status of the disabled children attending the special schools in Seoul and Gyeonggi area according to the type and degree of disabilities

서울·경기지역 특수학교 아동의 장애등급 및 유형별 구강보건실태조사

The purposes of this study were to investigate the oral health status of the disabled children attending special schools in Seoul and Gyeonggi area, which were to collect baseline data for set up a oral health center in special schools. The study group comprised 915 disabled children aged 12~15 year. They were examined clinically and surveyed on 4 oral health related characteristics according to the type and level of disabilities The results may be summarized as follows: 1. DMFT index was the highest in children with crippled disorder. The plaque control was more required to the children with mental retardation or developmental disorder other than another types of disabilities. 2. About one third of the children with mental retardation or developmental disorder had their teeth brushed at least 3 times daily without any help. Over the half of the children with crippled disorder had their teeth brushed 2 times daily, 33.3% were independent and 38.9% totally dependent on help from others. 3. The more level of disabilities was higher, the more frequency of tooth brushing was lower and degree of dependance of the tooth brushing was higher. 4. There was tendency to visit to dental office more frequently for relief of dental symptoms in children with crippled disorder 5. The inability to call for help from others was the major barrier to dental care for the disabled.