Determinantes e prevalência de doenças orais e comportamentos de saúde oral em pacientes com necessidades especiais

Abstract

Introduction: According to the World Health Organization (2014), 15% of the world's population suffers from some form of disability. The oral health care in special needs patients may be impaired by the physical and mental limitations of this specific population group. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional observational epidemiological study on patients of the APPACDM or IVF, aged 16 to 72 years old. We held 154 patients in a clinical examination, analysing the DMF Index and Silness and Löe Plaque Index, and prepared a detailed statistical questionnaire. The collected data was analysed using the SPSS Statistics software. Results: The average age was 34 ± 12 years. 51 individuals reside in the institution and 103 sleep at their own homes, while spending the day at the institution. The average DMF index was 10 ± 9, and it ranged from 0 to 28. As for the Silness and Löe Plaque Index, the level 3 was present in 50% of the participants. 86.9% of the participants brushed their teeth daily and 13.1% didn't, 28.1% of the participants brushed their teeth once a day, 32.9% do it twice and 39% do it three times. It was found that 77.9% of the participants regularly went to the dentist, 98.6% used fluoride toothpaste, 8.9% used mouthwash, 1.4% used dental floss and none had adaptors or electric toothbrush material. Concerning their eating habits, 5.9% of patients reported not eating sugary foods, 41.4% rarely ingest, 36.8% sometimes ingest and 15.8% eat every day. Conclusion: The institutions reveal some concern about the oral health of the patients. Improvements regarding some of the oral hygiene practices can be achieved, such as the implementation of the use of dental floss, the use of suited material, electric toothbrushes, information sessions, demonstrations to the patients.

Date of Award	29 Jul 2015
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Andreia Sofia de Paiva Figueiredo (Supervisor) & Nélio Jorge Veiga (Co-Supervisor)