[The oral status in mentally retarded institutionalized patients]

An epidemiological survey of dental and periodontal health status was conducted in a group of 263 institutionalized mentally retarded patients.

The periodontal status in the study population was very poor. 66% of the subjects presented with a probing depth more than 3.5 mm (PSR = 3 or 4), 29% showed the presence of bleeding or calculus (PSR = 1 or 2) and only 5% showed a normal periodontal status (PSR = 0). No statistical relationship was found between periodontal status and age, sex, type or duration of psychiatric therapy. Concerning the dental status a total of 59 (26%) subjects was totally edentulous. A significant increase in the prevalence of edentulousness with increasing age was recorded. The incidence of edentulousness was higher among women than among men, while it was not significantly influenced by the type of psychiatric pathology, type or duration of psychiatric therapy. The mean number of remaining teeth in every subject was 12.9 +/- 9; the mean number of sound teeth was 10.8 +/- 8 and the mean number of decayed teeth was 2.1 +/- 3. The number of decayed teeth decreased with increasing age and it was influenced by the type of psychiatric pathology, but not by the type or duration of psychiatric pathology.

Analysis of the results showed a very poor dental but especially periodontal status in mentally retarded subjects as compared to those found in studies performed in normal subjects.