Oral health among preschool children with autism spectrum disorders: A case-control study

• Published in: Autism : the international journal of research and practice 2015-08, Vol.19 (6), p.746-751
• Main Authors: Du, Rennan Y, Yiu, Cynthia KY, King, Nigel M, Wong, Virginia CN, McGrath, Colman PJ
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorder - epidemiology; Autistic children; Caries; Case-Control Studies; Child; Child Health; Child, Preschool; Comorbidity; Comparative Analysis; Day care centers; Dental caries; Dental Caries - epidemiology; Dental Health; Dental occlusion; Female; Foreign Countries; Health status; Hong Kong; Hong Kong - epidemiology; Humans; Lesions; Male; Males; Malocclusion - epidemiology; Mann Whitney U Test; Medical screening; Men; Mouth Diseases - epidemiology; Oral health; Oral Health - statistics & numerical data; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Preschool Children; Prevalence; Psychological trauma; Statistical Analysis; Tooth Diseases - epidemiology
• ISSN: 1362-3613; 1461-7005
• DOI: 10.1177/1362361314553439

Aim: To assess and compare the oral health status of preschool children with and without autism spectrum disorders. Methods: A random sample of 347 preschool children with autism spectrum disorder was recruited from 19 Special Child Care Centres in Hong Kong. An age- and gender-matched sample was recruited from mainstream preschools as the control group. Dental caries status, gingival health status, tooth wear, malocclusion, dental trauma and oral mucosal health were assessed and compared between the two groups. Results: It was feasible to conduct a comprehensive oral health screening among 74.1% (257) of the children with autism spectrum disorder. The mean age was 59 ± 10 months (range from 32 to 77 months), of whom 84.4% were males. Children with autism spectrum disorder had better gingival health than children without autism spectrum disorder (mean plaque score and gingival score p