Introduction: This study was carried out at nine (9) special schools for disabled children in Albania. The aim of the study is to determine the caries prevalence and oral hygiene status of children with different disabilities attending different schools for disabled at Albania. Methods: Participants are grouped according disability Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Down syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retarded, Blind, Deaf-Mute and age group (0-5, 6-10, 11-14, 15-18 years old children). Caries and oral health status were examined and assessed according WHO 1997 criteria. Results: Overall caries prevalence at permanent dentition for all groups is 85.3% and for primary dentition 72%. The mean deft index is 3.4 ± 3.5(p≤0.029), mean DMFT= 4.9±4.6 (p≤0.001) with significance difference across type of disability (Kruskal-Wallis test) for both dentition. The mean OHI-S of total population is 1.91; there is significant difference across disability type (p≤0.001, Anova test) for OHI-S index. In total 43.2 % have good, 49.4% fair and 7.4% bad oral hygiene. Conclusions: The subjects in this study had a high prevalence of dental caries, poor oral hygiene and need for restorative care.
Key words: caries, oral health, disability, hygiene.
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