DENTAL MORBIDITY IN BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED CHILDREN

Background. The article presents the results of a dental examination of 68 schoolchildren of 12-15 years with visual impairment. Objectives ― to study the dental status of blind and visually impaired children in the period of permanent bite, the necessity of sanation, the level of dental care. Methods. The prevalence and intensity of dental caries, dental-maxillary anomalies, soft tissue anomalies, functional disorders of the dental-maxillary system, the hygienic condition of the oral cavity, the necessity of sanation, the level of dental care of the examined schoolchildren were estimated. For determination of the intensity of dental caries the KPU index was used. The study of the structure of this index made it possible to determine the necessity of sanation of the oral cavity, the level of caries intensity (PEC index, Leus PA, 1990) and the level of dental care (USP index, Leus PA, 1988) in this category of schoolchildren. The hygienic condition of the oral cavity was estimated by the Green-Vermillion Index. The examination results were put down into the children’s registration cards of dental status (WHO, 2013). Results. During the dental examination, a high prevalence and intensity of dental caries, poor oral hygiene among schoolchildren aged 12-15 years with visual impairment were found. The majority of the examined children suffered from dental-maxillary anomalies, anomalies of soft tissues, dysfunction of the dental-maxillary system. Anomalies of separete teeth had the largest percentage among the tooth-jaw anomalies. As a result of the examination, a high necessity of sanation and an insufficient level of dental care were established. Conclusions. The results of this work indicate the necessity of the planning measures for the prevention and treatment of dental diseases of children with this pathology.