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A survey of oral health in a population of adults with developmental disabilities: Comparison with a national oral health survey of the general population
Author(s) -
Scott Antonia,
March Lyn,
Stokes MarieLouise
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
australian dental journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.701
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1834-7819
pISSN - 0045-0421
DOI - 10.1111/j.1834-7819.1998.tb00174.x
Subject(s) - oral health , national health interview survey , medicine , population , national health and nutrition examination survey , gerontology , environmental health , family medicine
During 1991, an oral health assessment of 101 adults with developmental disabilities aged from 21 to 53 years undertaken as part of a broader health survey which also included medical, psychological and nutritional assessments. The study group consisted of a random sample of adults chosen form the developmentally disabled population known to be living in the lower North Shore area of Sydney. This paper describes the results of the oral health assessment and compress them with an oral health survey of the Australian population done in 1987/88. Forty‐six per cent of the study group were males (mean age 33.5 years) and 54 per cent were females (mean age 33.0 years). Compared with similar age subgroups in the Australian population, the following factors were more frequently reported in the developmentally disabled group: a dental visit in the last 12 months (65 per cent vs 50) per cent; Odds Ratio (OR) 1.9:95) per cent; Confidence Internal (CI); 1.3‐2.8); use of public rather than private dental services (42 per cent vs 6 per cent; OR 11.3:95% CI7.5–16.9); oral mucosal pathology requiring treatment (15 percent vs 2 per cent; OR 8.5:95% CI 5.2–13.8); Severe periodontal disease (16 per cent vs 3 per cent; OR 6.9:95% CI 4.2–11.4); and moderate to severe malocclusion (26 percent vs 11 per cent; OR 2.1:95% CI 1.3‐3.5). Fifty‐eight per cent of subjects felt they needed no dental treatment but on examination of the oral mucosa, periodontal tissues and teeth, over 90 per cent were found to require some sort of dental treatment.