Oral health of children with intractable epilepsy attending the UK National Centre for Young People with Epilepsy.

AIM: To investigate the oral health of children with intractable epilepsy attending the UK National Centre for Young People with Epilepsy. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: 39 children and adolescents with intractable epilepsy at a residential school, the UK National Centre For Young People With Epilepsy (NCYPE) were age, gender and ethnicity matched with 39 healthy children from local schools in Surrey (England). Dental examinations were completed for indices for both the primary and permanent dentitions comprising decayed, missing and filled teeth and surfaces, plaque index, gingivitis index, developmental enamel defects, and incisor tooth trauma. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the dmfs, dmft, DMFS or DMFT in the children with epilepsy compared with the controls. There was a significantly greater mean plaque score associated with permanent teeth in the children with epilepsy 68.0 SD+/- 31.5, compared with the control children, 142.9 SD+/- 23.2, p<0.0001. The mean +/- SD gingivitis score was significantly greater in the children with epilepsy 47.9+/-33.8, compared with the control children, 15.85+/-21.8, p<0.001. A significantly greater number of children with epilepsy had experienced anterior tooth trauma, 54% in all, compared with the controls, 12.5% p<0.0001. Although children with epilepsy had greater mean plaque and gingivitis scores, the prevalence of dental caries was low. Children and teenagers with intractable epilepsy were more likely to have sustained dental trauma than controls. CONCLUSIONS: A dental service aimed at early attention to anterior tooth trauma is needed. In addition, there is an ongoing need for improving the oral hygiene of these individuals to prevent the development of periodontal disease in later life.