Caries and oral hygiene status of cerebral palsy children in Riyadh area

Abstract Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a common handicapping condition in Saudi Arabia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the caries experience and oral hygiene status of CP children in Riyadh area. One hundred and four CP children were examined for caries experience and oral hygiene status in the Rehabilitation Center for Disabled Children Dental Clinic, Riyadh. For the purpose of analyses, the children were divided into two groups on the basis of primary dentition only and mixed dentition. There were 37 children in the first group and 67 in the second group. The mean dmft for the first group was 6.14 (± 4.35), with the dt component of 5.19 (± 3.96), mt of 0.14 (± 0.54) and ft of 0.81 (± 1.66). In the first group 21.6% children were rated as having good oral hygiene. The mean DMFT for the second group was 5.07 (± 4.38), with the DT component of 3.45 (± 3.43), MT of 0.22 (± 0.95) and FT of 1.40 (± 2.12). In the second group 10.4% children were rated as having good oral hygiene. It was concluded that further efforts were required towards caries prevention in the CP children.King Saud Universit