Assessment of the state of dentition and oral hygiene in 16-25-year-old young people with mild and moderate mental disability.

PURPOSE The purpose of the research is to assess the state of dentition and oral hygiene in 16-25-year-old young people with mild and moderate mental disability in comparison with a control group of healthy young people at the same age. MATERIAL AND METHODS The research was carried out in a special School and Tutelary Centre in Lublin. A group of 144 young people aged 16-25 with mild and moderate mental disability (group I) among them 75 girls and 69 boys participated in the research. A group of 50 healthy young people aged 16-25 (group II) among them 24 girls and 26 boys was a control group. Determined: frequency of dental caries, DMF number, dental caries treatment index (DTI), oral hygiene index (OHI), percentage of traumatic injuries of teeth, percentage of sealed teeth. RESULTS The frequency of dental caries in both groups was 100%. The average DMF was 11.96 (group I) and in the control group II: 6.58. The largest number of teeth with active caries--8.21 teeth with caries per person was found in group I, but 2.72 in group II. Dental caries treatment index (DTI) was 0.24 in group I and 0.59 in the control group II. Oral hygiene index OHI in group I was 1.78, in group II this index was 0.34, 0.29 in girls and 0.38 in boys. CONCLUSIONS 1. The state of dentition in 16-25-year-old young people with mild and moderate mental disability is unsatisfactory. 2. Higher values of OHI index were in group I. 3. The obtained results of the state of dentition and oral hygiene in the group of young people with mental disability are at the same level both in the girls and boys. 4. The above mentioned results suggest the need for special dental care for young people with mild and moderate mental disability.