Presence and severity of Periodontal Diseases among Special Health Care Needs Individuals

Study’s Aim: to explore the distribution and severity of periodontal diseases among individuals getting daily
care in an institution specialized in training individuals with special needs in Riyadh city.
Materials and Methods
Statistical Analysis: The data collection took an overall of 4 weeks to be obtained and the data were
subjected to IBM SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) Statistics Windows version 10.
Findings: 42 female individuals were examined, the mean age of these individuals was 24 years ranging
from (14-40 years). The majority of these individuals that had been examined were mentally disabled (n=32),
Down syndrome (n=9), and physically disabled (n=1). In Mentally disabled patients we found that 84% are
having (Moderate gingival Inflammation), and 47% having (Mild plaque accumulation). While 89% of Down
syndrome individuals are having (Moderate gingival Inflammation), and 44% are having (Mild- Moderate
plaque accumulation).
Conclusion: This study observed that periodontal disease was a little bit greater among individuals with
Down syndrome as compared to individuals with other disabilities, which may be due to many reasons such
as shortage of oral health importance in the general blueprint of health management, or the overall parental
indifference in relation to other essential health issues.