Journal of Dental Sciences
Volume 4, Issue 2 , Pages 61-74, June 2009

Dental caries associated with dietary and toothbrushing habits of 6- to 12-year-old mentally retarded children in Taiwan

  • Hsiu-Yueh Liu

      Affiliations

    • School of Dentistry, College of Dental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Shun-Te Huang

      Affiliations

    • Division of Dentistry for Children and Disabled, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
    • Department of Oral Hygiene, College of Dental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Department of Oral Hygiene, Kaohsiung Medical University, 100, Shih-Chuan 1st Road, San Ming District, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Szu-Yu Hsuao

      Affiliations

    • Division of Dentistry for Children and Disabled, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Chun-Chih Chen

      Affiliations

    • School of Dentistry, College of Dental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Wen-Chia Hu

      Affiliations

    • School of Dentistry, College of Dental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Ya-Yin Yen

      Affiliations

    • Department of Oral Hygiene, College of Dental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Received 22 January 2009; accepted 18 April 2009.

Article Outline

Background/Purpose

In this study, we analyzed the influence of dietary factors and toothbrushing habits on dental caries in children with mental retardation (MR).

Materials and methods

In total, 168 children with MR, aged 6–12 years, were selected from a large cross-sectional survey entitled “Oral health survey and oral hygiene education for the disabled in Taiwan”, which used a stratified cluster sampling design and probability proportional to size for sampling. Oral examinations were carried out by dentists, who were trained such that the kappa score of their interexaminer agreement exceeded 0.8. Data on demographics, diet and toothbrushing habits were collected using a standardized questionnaire completed by a parent or caregiver. A database was designed using Microsoft Access, and the data were analyzed with SAS and JMP software.

Results

The number of permanent decayed teeth, DMFT index, and caries prevalence of 6-year-old children (0.25, 0.25, and 18.75%, respectively) significantly increased with age to 12 years old (2.37, 3.54, and 72.88%, respectively) (P < 0.05), and this effect was reversed in the primary dentition. Children with a habit of asking for sweets, children who ate sweets at least once a day, children who received sweets as a reward for behavior control, and children who usually held food in their mouth had a higher number of decayed teeth in their primary dentition. Children who had a higher number of decayed teeth and deft index tended to have a poor appetite, eat soft foods such as porridge, and spend a long time eating. Children who needed help cleaning their teeth comprised 39.62% of the cohort. Children who did not clean their teeth regularly had the highest number of decayed teeth at 2.38.

Conclusion

Children with MR tend to have poor oral health. A higher number of decayed teeth and a higher prevalence of caries were statistically significantly related to eating sweets and not having good oral hygiene habits of toothbrushing after eating.

KEY WORDS:  children , dietary habits , mental retardation , toothbrushing habits

No full text is available. To read the body of this article, please view the PDF online.

 

Back to Article Outline

References 

  1. Luckasson R . Mental Retardation: Definition, Classification, and Systems of Support . 10th ed.. Washington, DC: AAMR; 2002;
  2. Department of Statistics  . Minister of the Interior . Available at: http://www.moi.gov.tw/stat/year.aspx [Date accessed: August 31, 2008]
  3. Forsberg H , Quick-Nilsson I , Gustavson KH , Jagell S . Dental health and dental care in severely mentally retarded children . Swed Dent J . 1985;9:15–28
  4. Shaw L , Maclaurin ET , Foster TD . Dental study of handicapped children attending special schools in Birmingham, UK . Community Dent Oral Epidemiol . 1986;14:24–27
  5. Pieper K , Dirks B , Kessler P . Caries, oral hygiene and periodontal disease in handicapped adults . Community Dent Oral Epidemiol . 1986;14:28–30
  6. Martens L , Marks L , Goffin G , Gizani S , Vinckier F , Declerck D . Oral hygiene in 12-year-old disabled children in Flanders, Belgium, related to manual dexterity . Community Dent Oral Epidemiol . 2000;28:73–80
  7. Karjalainen S , Vanhamäki M , Kanto D , Kössi L , Sewón L , Salo M . Long-term physical inactivity and oral health in Finnish adults with intellectual disability . Acta Odontol Scand . 2002;60:50–55
  8. Kao CT , Chou MY . A survey on oral hygiene status in children with Down's syndrome and mental retardation . Zhonghua Ya Yi Xue Hui Za Zhi . 1991;10:13–19 [In Chinese, English abstract]
  9. Huang ZK. The Oral Health and Its Related Factors of People with Autism in Kaohsiung City Taiwan. Masters thesis. Graduate Institute of Oral Health Sciences, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 1998.
  10. Chen SJ. The Oral Health and Its Related Factors of Children with Disabilities in Kaohsiung County Taiwan. Masters thesis. Graduate Institute of Oral Health Sciences, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 2003.
  11. Kinirons MJ . Increased salivary buffering in association with a low caries experience in children suffering from cystic fibrosis . J Dent Res . 1983;62:815–817
  12. Gizani S , Declerck D , Vinckier F , Martens L , Marks L , Goffin G . Oral health condition of 12-year-old handicapped children in Flanders (Belgium) . Community Dent Oral Epidemiol . 1997;25:352–357
  13. Yoshino Y . The 20 years evaluation of the dental health of the institutionalized children with severe disabilities . J Jpn Soc Disabil Oral Health . 2001;22:45–49
  14. Huang ST. Oral health survey and oral hygiene education for the disabled in Taiwan. Bureau of Health Promotion, Department of Health, Executive Yuan, Taichung, Taiwan, 2005.
  15. Chen HS, Huang ST. Evaluation of oral health and its related factors of children and adolescents in Taiwan. Bureau of Health Promotion, Department of Health, Executive Yuan, Taichung, Taiwan, 2007.
  16. Department of Social Affairs, Minister of the Interior . Available at: http://sowf.moi.gov.tw/05/b.htm [Date accessed August 31, 2008]
  17. World Health Organization  . Oral health surveys – basic methods . 4th ed.. Geneva: World Health Organization; 1997;
  18. Tesini DA . An annotated review of the literature of dental caries and periodontal disease in mentally retarded individuals . Spec Care Dentist . 1981;1:75–87
  19. Ogasawara T , Kasahara H , Hosaka K , et al.   Oral findings in severely handicapped patients participating in the periodic dental check-up system for five years-dental caries, gingival recessions and hyperplasias, periodontal diseases . Shoni Shikagaku Zasshi . 1990;28:732–740 [In Japanese, English abstract]
  20. Goto H , Ueda T , Kosaka M . A study of dental status and its contributing factors in mentally retarded persons institutionalized in welfare facilities . Nippon Koshu Eisei Zasshi . 1991;38:498–506 [In Japanese, English abstract]
  21. Donnell DO , Sheiham A , Wai YK . Dental findings in 4-, 14-, and 25-to 35-year-old Hong Kong residents with mental and physical disabilities . Spec Care Dentist . 2002;22:231–234
  22. Nowak AJ . Dental caries: incidence and prevention in persons who are handicapped . In: Proceedings: Symposium on Current Topics in Dental Caries . Matsudo, Japan: Nihon University School of Dentistry; 1982;p. 217–229
  23. Miller JB , Taylor PP . A survey of the oral health of a group of orthopedically handicapped children . J Dent Child . 1970;37:331–343
  24. Santoro F , Maiorana C , Galletta A , Novi S , Pavanello W . Evaluation of a prevention and prophylaxis program for the handicapped . Prev Assist Dent . 1991;17:8–15
  25. Palin T , Hansen H , Alvesalo L , Heinonen OP . Dental health of 9-10-year-old mentally retarded children in Eastern Finland . Community Dent Oral Epidemiol . 1982;10:86–90
  26. Storhuaug K . Caries experience in disabled pre-school children . Acta Odontol Scand . 1985;43:241–248
  27. Waldman HB , Perlman SP , Swerdloff M . Children with mental retardation/developmental disabilities: do physicians ever consider needed dental care? . Ment Retard . 2001;39:53–56
  28. Waldman HB , Perlman SP . Why is providing dental care to people with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities such a low priority? . Public Health Rep . 2002;117:435–439

PII: S1991-7902(09)60010-6

doi:10.1016/S1991-7902(09)60010-6

Journal of Dental Sciences
Volume 4, Issue 2 , Pages 61-74, June 2009

Article Tools