title: Impact of oral health behaviors on dental caries in children with intellectual disabilities in Guangzhou, China.
abstract: Dental care is consistently reported as one of the primary medical needs of children with disabilities (IDC). The aim of the present study was to explore the influence of oral health behaviors on the caries experience in children with intellectual disabilities in Guangzhou, China. A cross-sectional study was carried out in 477 intellectually disabled children, 12 to 17 years old, who were randomly selected from special educational schools in Guangzhou. A self-administered parental questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic characteristics and oral health behavior variables, and 450 valid questionnaires were returned. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the factors associated with dental caries. The average age of those in the sample was 14.6 years (SD = 1.3), 68.4% of whom were male, and the caries prevalence rate was 53.5% (DMFT = 1.5 ± 2.0). The factors significantly affecting the development of dental caries in IDC included gender, the presence or absence of cerebral palsy, and the frequency of dental visits and toothbrushing. In conclusion, the presence of cerebral palsy contributed to an increase risk of caries experience in intellectually disabled children, while toothbrushing more than twice a day and routine dental visits were caries-protective factors. Oral health promotion action may lead to a reduction in dental caries levels in IDC.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China. sumsliu@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Zifeng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Guanghua School of Stomotology, Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510055, China. yudsh@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Dongsheng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Guanghua School of Stomotology, Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510055, China. luo_wei1988@126.com.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Guanghua School of Stomotology, Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510055, China. yang_jing1989@126.com.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Guanghua School of Stomotology, Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510055, China. lujiaxuan1989@126.com.
authors.forename: Jiaxuan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Guanghua School of Stomotology, Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510055, China. gshuo@mail3.sysu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Shuo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Guanghua School of Stomotology, Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510055, China. luo_wei1988@126.com.
authors.forename: Wenqing
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Guanghua School of Stomotology, Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510055, China. zhaowei3@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003729:Dental Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019988:Children with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*