Dental trauma in children with disabilities in India: a comparative study.

AIM

To investigate and describe the characteristics of traumatic dental injury (TDI) in children with disabilities attending special schools in Bangalore, India and to compare these with a matched group of healthy children.

METHODS

The sample included 231 children with disabilities aged 6-16 years and 231 age- and sex-matched healthy children. Data were collected through clinical examinations according to the modified Ellis classification of TDI.

RESULTS

All the dental injuries involved maxillary incisor teeth, and trauma was noted in 12.1 % of disabled children as compared to 6.9 % among the control group which showed statistical significance. There was no difference in the distribution of traumatic injuries between the genders and no difference in the mean age was found between the study and the control groups. Simple fractures involving little or no dentine were the most frequent type of injury.

CONCLUSIONS

The data suggest that the TDI prevalence in children with disability was higher than that of non-disabled children.