ANALYSIS OF ORAL HEALTH STATUS AMONG HEARING AND SPEECH IMPAIRED CHILDREN IN PAKISTAN

Introduction: Children and adolescents with disabilities appear to have poorer oral health than their nondisabled counterparts. Oral health is an important aspect of health for all children, and is all the more important for children with special health needs. Aims and objectives: The basic aim of the study is to analyze the oral health status among hearing and speech impaired children in Pakistan. Material and methods: This cross sectional study was conducted at Sheikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore during 2018 with the permission of ethical committee of hospital. The data was collected from 100 hearing and speech impaired children. We select these participants to find the oral health status of these children. All children of 5-15 years of either gender having speech & hearing impairment were included in the study. The clinical examination was carried according to World Health Organization (WHO) techniques. The children were then examined for oral status by making them sit on the upright chair in adequate light using autoclaved instruments; plain mouth mirror and WHO probe. Results: The data were collected from 200 children. Out of these children, bleeding on probing was found in 72 (13.3%) female children as compared to 57 (10.6%) male children. While 131 (24.3%) female children had calculus, 124 (23.0%) male children had the same condition. 87% of the children required single surface or double surface restorations, the remaining were indicated for pulp therapy. Gingivitis was seen in 35% of the children with bleeding gums and calculus who required oral prophylaxis. Conclusion: It is concluded that high prevalence of dental caries was observed among hearing and speech impaired children.