Dental caries and related risk factors in Saudi cerebral palsy children.

OBJECTIVE: To determine caries experience and related risk factors in cerebral palsy (CP) children. METHODS: Random sample of CP children was examined for dental caries and oral hygiene. Questionnaire was utilized for information about caries risk factors. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Riyadh from December 2014 to May 2015. RESULTS: Fifty-two CP children were examined with mean age of 6.3+/-2.7 years. Only one (1.9%) child out of the 52 had no clinical caries. Combined (dmft plus DMFT) mean caries score among study sample was 9.98+/-3.99. Older children had significantly higher mean caries scores (11.5+/-3.34) than younger children (8.86+/-4.1, p=0.017). The CP children with good oral hygiene had lowest mean caries score (5.8+/-7.32) as compared to those with fair (9.72+/-3.3) and poor (11.55+/-3.05) oral hygiene (p=0.012). Those children whose first dental visit was for routine check-up had significantly (p=0.02) lower mean caries scores (7.33+/-4.65) than those who made their first visit due to dental problem (11.57+/-4.15). Similarly, those who had topical fluoride applications by dentist had significantly (p=0.003) lower mean caries scores (8.67+/-4.14) than those with no topical fluoride application (11.9+/-2.89). CONCLUSION: The studied CP children had very high caries experience and poor oral hygiene. There was strong association between the high caries experience and poor oral hygiene.

Dietary Practices in Saudi Cerebral Palsy Children.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the dietary practices of Saudi cerebral palsy (CP) children. METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the following information from parents of CP children: demographics, main source of dietary information, frequency of main meals, foods/drinks used for main meals and in-between-meals. RESULTS: Parents of 157 CP children participated. Parents were divided into three, while children were divided into two age groups. The main sources of dietary information included popular media (46.5%) and dentist (36.3%). Most of the children had three meals (71.3%) or two meals (24.8%) daily. Choices for main meals included meats (68.8%), vegetables (65.6%), fruits (28.4%) and puddings (38.9%). The main three drinks choices with main meals included packed juices (59.9%), bottled water (58.8%) and fresh fruit juices (33.1%). The choices for in-between meals snacks included biscuits (61.1%), potato chips (51.6%), fruits (43.9%) and chocolates (41.4%). The choice of drinks with snacks was similar to that used with main meals. In cross-tabulation, older parents used meat (p=.03) and soft drinks (p=.04) more often for their children's main meals. Older children were given meat (p=.004) and soft drinks (p=.04) more often with main meals. Older children were given potato chips as snacks more often than younger children (p=.02), and there was a trend towards use of chocolates as snacks in older children (p=.08). CONCLUSION: Parents of CP children need to be educated about dietary practices of their children especially in areas such as the use of packed juices, dairy products, soft drinks and chocolates.

Oral health comprehension in parents of Saudi cerebral palsy children.

OBJECTIVE: To determine oral health comprehension among parents of cerebral palsy (CP) children. METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was utilized to obtain the required information. The study was conducted in two main centers for disabled children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. RESULTS: Parents of all 157 CP children registered in the two centers completed the questionnaire. Mothers mostly (86.6%) completed the questionnaire. Majority (98.7%) of the parents knew the importance of dental health for general health. More than two-third (70%) of the parents thought that teeth should be brushed thrice daily or after each meal. About three in every ten (29.9%) parents were not aware of the beneficial effect of fluoride in preventing dental caries; and very few (9.6%) were aware of water as a source of fluoride. Almost all (98.7%) the parents knew that sugary foods caused dental caries. Three-fourth (75.8%) of the parents were not aware of the possible harmful effects of bottled juices on teeth. There were no significant (p > 0.05) associations between the parental age/gender with any of the dependent variables. CONCLUSION: Parents of CP children generally showed satisfactory oral health comprehension. However, they need further oral health education in several areas.

Oral health status of children with obstructive sleep apnea and snoring.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate caries experience, oral hygiene, plaque deposition, and gingival health status of a group of Saudi children with obstructive sleep apnea and snoring (OSA). METHODS: The sample consisted of 30 OSA and snoring patients (three to eight years old) and 30 age- and gender-matched controls. Dental caries, oral hygiene, plaque deposition, and gingival health status were assessed. RESULTS: The prevalence of dental caries was 83 percent for the control group and 47 percent for the study group. More than one-third (37 percent) of the study group had good oral hygiene compared to only one case (three percent) in the control group. The mean plaque accumulation for the study group was (0.78±0.57) and (1.09±0.3) for the control group, while the mean gingival index score was (0.05±0.13) for the study group and (0.17±0.29) for the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Young children suffering from obstructive sleep apnea and snoring have different oral health status compared with nonobstructed control children. OSA subjects had less dental caries, plaque deposition, and gingival inflammation and better oral hygiene.