Preventive dental health practices of non-institutionalized Down syndrome children: a controlled study.
Although Down syndrome children are known to be greatly predisposed to periodontal disease when compared with normal children, the preventive dental health practices of non-institutionalized Down syndrome children have not been well reported. This questionnaire study of 25 Down syndrome children aged 1-14 years compared with 25 normal control children showed that Down syndrome children have poorer dental health practices compared with normal children. Significantly greater numbers of Down syndrome children were weaned from the bottle at greater than 18 months of age (56% vs 24%, p less than 0.05) or had taken a bottle to bed (40% vs 12%, p less than 0.05), indicating their increased risk for the development of nursing bottle caries. In addition, Down syndrome children were receiving less help during tooth brushing (60% vs 84%, p less than 0.05), were older when they first visited the dentist, and less likely to be taking regular fluoride supplements. These results indicate that Down syndrome children are further disadvantaged by poor preventive dental health practices and should be targeted for increased preventive dental care.
Randell
D M
DM
University of Queensland Dental School, Australia.
Harth
S
S
Seow
W K
WK
D000293:Adolescent; D001903:Bottle Feeding / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003730:Dental Care for Persons with Disabilities; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D004037:Diet, Cariogenic; D004314:Down Syndrome; D005260:Female; D005459:Fluorides / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009910:Oral Hygiene / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010290:Parents; D012307:Risk Factors; D013395:Sucrose / Q000009:adverse effects; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D013395:Sucrose; D005459:Fluorides