Dental Caries Experience in Children with Down Syndrome

Author(s):

Joshini Shanmugam, Mebin George Mathew* and Suresh V

Oral health in Down Syndrome (DS) children has some peculiar aspects that must be considered in the follow-up of these patients. The objective of the present study was to assess the prevalence of dental caries and treatment needs among children with Down syndrome. Case records of patients who visited the department of pediatric and preventive dentistry at a private dental hospital from June 2019 to March 2020. 17 patients who fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in the study. The data was analysed through chi square. It was observed that all the children with Down syndrome had dental caries and mean dmft score was 4. Out of 17 children, all were reported to have dental caries with maximum prevalence in the age group 6-10 years and slightly more in males than females (p>0.05). Within the limitations of this study, it was concluded that prevalence of dental caries is high in children with Down syndrome.