Dental injuries in autistic patients.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the incidence of traumatic dental injury among Turkish children and young adults with autism and compare this to the general population of Turkish children and young adults without autism.
Methods: This study was comprised of 186 children and young adults (138 males and 48 females), 93 with autism (autistic group, or AG) and 93 without autism (control group, or CG). Dental injuries were classified according to drawings and texts based on the WHO classification system, as modified by Andreasen and Andreasen.
Results: The rate of injury was higher among the AG (23%) than the CG (15%). The difference between the 2 groups, however, was not statistically significant (P<.19). The most common type of dental injury was enamel fracture. The rate of enamel fracture was higher in the CG (59%) than in the AG (33%), and the distribution of types of traumatic injury differed significantly between the AG and CG (P>.01).
Conclusions: There were no significant differences in the rates of traumatic dental injuries among children and young adults with and without autistic disorder. The most frequently injured teeth were the permanent maxillary central incisors, and the frequency of injury to these teeth differed significantly (P>.01) between AG (56%) and CG (91%). The most common type of dental injury, enamel fracture, was more common in CG (59%) than AG (33%). The distribution of types of traumatic dental injuries differed significantly between the 2 groups (P>.01).