Oral health and associated factors among preschool children with special healthcare needs

Objective To investigate the oral health status and associated factors among preschool children with special healthcare needs. Subjects and methods This was designed as a cross-sectional study. Dental examination was provided to 383 children at Special Child Care Centres. Covariates of interest included children's age, developmental profile, oral health-related behaviours and family social-economic status. The association between children's dental caries experiences, dental plaque deposition and gingival health status were analysed by negative binomial regression, multiple factor ANOVA and binary logistic regression when appropriate. Results The proportion of children with caries, gingival inflammation and plaque were 30.3%, 89.6% and 95.0%, respectively. Final regression models indicated that (a) tooth decay was associated with dental visit experiences, night bottle-feeding habit, fluoridated toothpaste and monthly income; (b) plaque deposition was associated with intellectual functioning, practical skills, night bottle-feeding habit, use of toothpaste, initiation of toothbrushing habit, toothbrushing duration and additional cleaning habit; (c) gingival status was associated with children's intellectual functioning and toothbrushing frequency. Conclusions Poor oral hygiene status existed among preschool children with special healthcare needs. Children's oral health status was associated with their developmental profile, oral health-related behaviours and social-economic status.