Journal of Disability and Oral Health

cover art

Cover Date:
October 2001
Print ISSN:
1470-8558
Electronic ISSN:
1754-2758
Vol:
2
Issue:
2

An assessment of appropriate mode of treatment for children with special needs

Aim: To determine the most appropriate mode of treatment (chairside, sedation or general anaesthesia) for children with special needs. Objectives: To undertake a behavioural assessment based on mouth opening on request, to ascertain the child’s initial compliance; to assess oral health status and treatment need using standardised criteria. Design: Cross-sectional study of children with varying degrees of disability in special schools in Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham. Subjects: A stratified random sample of 300 children was selected giving 210 children (127 female, 83 male, age range 5–18 years) available for examination. Main outcome measures: To utilise the behavioural assessment in determining the most appropriate mode of treatment. Results: Eleven children refused or were unable to co-operate on the day of the examination. 28% of the children examined had untreated caries; 20% had sustained dental trauma; 25% had experienced erosion, 72% had plaque present (the average plaque score per child was 10.1) and 17% had calculus. Sixty seven per cent of the children required treatment and of those requiring treatment 52% needed a combination of treatment procedures; 34% needed oral hygiene instruction only and 14% oral hygiene instruction and scaling and polishing only. The behavioural assessment of all the children (210) suggested that 38% would co-operate with chairside treatment, 23% would require sedation and 39% general anaesthesia if they needed treatment in the future. Conclusions: Of those children (52%) who required a combination of treatment procedures, 64% could be treated in the primary care setting without sedation and the remaining 36% would require sedation (27%) or a general anaesthetic (9%) because of inability to comply. Keywords: Special needs, treatment needs, oral health, disabled

Article Price
£15.00
Institution Article Price
£15.00
Page Start
66
Page End
70
Authors
P Lisowska, H Bembridge, M Ahluwalia, K Barnard, L Zoitopoulos, C Taylor

Articles from this issue

  • Title
  • Pg. Start
  • Pg. End

  1. Editorial
  2. 50
  3. 50

  1. The effect of topical metronidazole therapy and controlled oral hygiene procedures on periodontal disease in patients with Down syndrome – a clinical interventional study
  2. 54
  3. 62

  1. Day stay service for special needs patients requiring restorative dentistry – an audit of non attendance
  2. 63
  3. 65

  1. An assessment of appropriate mode of treatment for children with special needs
  2. 66
  3. 70

  1. Development of an undergraduate curriculum in special care dentistry
  2. 71
  3. 77

  1. The oral health and treatment needs of adults with a learning disability living in private households in Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham, London
  2. 78
  3. 82

  1. Letters to the Editor
  2. 83
  3. 84

  1. BSDH News
  2. 85
  3. 96

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