Prevalence of dental caries and gingivitis among children with intellectual disability in India

Introduction: Down syndrome (DS) is one of the most common genetic abnormalities, with highly variable prognosis. Oral diseases such as periodontal disease, malocclusion, mouth breathing, macroglossia, delayed teeth eruption, missing and malformed teeth, microdontia, diastema, and bruxism are common among individuals with DS. Hence, a study was planned to assess the caries experience and periodontal status of subjects with DS. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 92 DS patients in two different centers in Chennai and Pondicherry to assess the prevalence of dental caries and gingivitis, using dft/DMFT and Modified Loe and Silness Gingival Index, respectively. The subjects were examined by three trained and calibrated examiners using a pre-tested and pre-validated proforma. Data were entered in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and analyzed using SPSS software (version 20). Descriptive statistics were used. A value of P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The mean DMFT was low among male (1.47 ± 2.31) when compared to female (2.57 ± 4.57) which was found to be significant statistically. The gingival score was low among male (.85 ± 0.36) when compared to female (1 ± 1.00) which was found to be significant statistically. The mean dft among male and female were (.49 ± 1.37;.43 ± 1.09), respectively, which was found to be not significant statistically. Conclusion: Dental caries and gingival diseases are higher among children with DS. Dental caries was found both in primary dentition and permanent dentition.