Saman Khan

ABSTRACT

Background: Parents are the primary caretakers and saviors of a child but woefully thousands of children have to lead their lives without parents, the later either being dead or incapable of bringing up their children, such section of the society is called as orphans. There is dearth of information available about the oral health status of orphan individuals and to fill this gap, the present study is undertaken. Objectives:1. To assess the oral health status and treatments needs of children and adolescents residing in the orphanages of Bhopal district.2. To provide a baseline data for planning a comprehensive oral health care program for the same population. Methodolgy and Study Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study is conducted in 13 orphan institutions. The total study population is 441, comprising of 337 (76.4%) males and 104(23.6%) females in the age group of 5-18 years. WHO Oral Health Assessment Form 1997 is used to record the clinical parameters. Clinical examination was carried out using plane mouth mirror and CPI probes. Statistical analysis was performed using chi-square test and P value < 0.05 will be considered as statistically significant.Results: In extra oral examination 6% subjects had ulceration, sores, fissures in head neck region. In Intra oral examination, ulceration 60(13.6%), candidiasis 2(0.2%),abscess 74(16.9%), enamel opacity/ hypoplasia 33(7.5%), fluorosis 58(13.3%), periodontal disease 81.7%, gingival bleeding 21.2%(n=93), calculus prevalence 54.4%(n=240). Conclusion: overall results show dental caries was low as compared to gingivitis and calculus.