The analysis of oral cavity disease indicators of disabled children. Knowledge and attitude of the parents towards health and care of their children's oral cavity

Relevance of the problem and goal of the thesis. Dental care for children with special needs is regularly presented as one of the main medical needs of people with disabilities, and difficulties associated with various disabilities can be an obstacle to proper oral care and may have a significant impact on risk of developing oral health problems. The goal of the thesis is to analyze the indicators for oral diseases of disabled children residing in Lithuania, performing anonymous questionnaire survey with parents who have such children. Material and methods. The survey was conducted from October, 2017 to January, 2018. Three hundred and eighty parents of disabled children participated in the survey and responded to the questionnaire. The first part of the questionnaire consisted of 12 general information questions; the second part included 31 questions on dentistry information. Statistical analysis of data was performed using SPSS R v3.4.3 program. Results. The majority of all 380 respondents surveyed had children with physical and mental disabilities or mental and behavioral disorders. 63.2 percent of the respondents chose state institutions for teeth treatment, almost half of the children had their teeth treated outpatient and the majority visited a dentist once a year, i.e. 41.8 percent; 78.2 percent of respondents do not get help to reach dentist’s office. Regular professional oral hygiene was performed to only 11 percent of the children, and at home their teeth were usually brushed by parents with an usual toothbrush and toothpaste; 57 percent brushed their teeth in the morning and evening. 58 percent of children who brushed their teeth in the morning and evening had less likely to bleeding gums. Among the children taking antiepileptic drugs it appeared more than four times likely to bleed gums than among non-users (p