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A preliminary study into the dental health status of multiple sclerosis patients
Author(s) -
Symons Anne L,
Bortolanza Mario,
Godden Stephen,
Seymour Gregory
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
special care in dentistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.328
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1754-4505
pISSN - 0275-1879
DOI - 10.1111/j.1754-4505.1993.tb01627.x
Subject(s) - medicine , multiple sclerosis , etiology , disease , oral hygiene , trigeminal neuralgia , dentistry , oral health , surgery , psychiatry
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease of unknown etiology involving the central nervous system. Since MS affects the whole body, orofacial aspects of the disease must be expected, particularly since loss of muscular coordination may result in a diminished ability to maintain oral hygiene. This preliminary study examined the dental health status of 22 volunteer MS patients. A questionnaire collected data regarding medical and dental histories and socieo‐demographic information. Extra‐ and intra‐oral examinations were carried out on all subjects to determine the particular dental treatment needs of this special group. The DMFT and CPITN scores for this group did not indicate that MS patients were more susceptible to dental caries or periodontal disease. However, the prevalence of trigeminal neuralgia and symptoms of TMJ dysfunction in the group studied indicated that these conditions may be manifest in MS patients and warrant further investigations.