[Plaque and gingivitis in children with cerebral palsy: relation to CP-diagnosis, mental and motor handicap]
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1Københavns Tandlaegehojskoles Institut for Paedodonti.
Insights
Children with cerebral palsy (CP) have poorer oral hygiene. Individualized care plans and frequent monitoring are crucial for improving oral health in CP patients.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Dentistry
- Oral Health
- Cerebral Palsy Research
Context:
- Study involved 105 children aged 14-15 with cerebral palsy (CP) in eastern Denmark.
- Data collected on CP diagnosis, mental/motor handicaps, plaque index, gingivitis index, and toothbrushing habits.
- Compared CP group with a control group.
Purpose:
- To assess oral hygiene status in children with cerebral palsy.
- To investigate the influence of CP-specific factors on oral hygiene.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of different toothbrushing approaches.
Summary:
- Children with CP exhibited significantly higher plaque and gingivitis indices compared to controls.
- Specific CP diagnosis, mental, or motor handicaps did not show a definitive influence, though milder handicaps correlated with better indices.
- Parent-child toothbrushing resulted in the highest gingival scores; parent-only brushing was better than child-only brushing. Electric toothbrush use showed promising results, similar to controls.
Impact:
- Highlights the need for tailored oral hygiene strategies for children with CP.
- Emphasizes the importance of frequent professional monitoring and intervention.
- Suggests potential benefits of electric toothbrushes and specific supervision models for CP patients.
Unlabelled:
A total of 105 children with cerebral palsy aged 14 and 15 years born in the eastern Denmark comprised the study group. The children were classified according to CP-diagnosis, mental handicap, motor handicap and information on plaque index, gingivitis index, and toothbrushing habits were collected. The analysis showed that the values for plaque and gingivitis indices were significantly higher than those of the control group. The specific CP-diagnosis, the mental handicap and the motor handicap did not seem to have definite influence on the child's plaque and gingivitis indices. Children with the mildest mental and motor handicap seemed to have lower plaque and gingivitis indices than those of the severely handicapped children. The highest gingival scores (5.2) were seen when the child and the parents together were responsible for the child's toothbrushing. The gingival index was 4.0, when the parents brushed the child's teeth and 3.7 when the children brushed their teeth on their own. Only 7 children used an electric toothbrush. The average gingival index in this group was 3.0, which was nearly the same as that of the control group.
Conclusion:
1. Oral hygiene planning of the CP-child can only be made when an individual evaluation has been performed. 2. CP-children's oral hygiene has to be controlled frequently.