Oral Health Status of Handicapped Children Attending Various Special Schools in Belgaum City Karnataka

Aim: To assess the oral health status of handicapped children attending various special schools. Objective: To assess oral hygiene practice, dental caries and treatment needs, gingival and periodontal treatment needs malocclusion status. Materials and Methods: The study group consisted of 263 subjects out of which 155 were males and 108 females. Results: 67% of subjects used tooth brush to clean their teeth and around 29.3% used finger. 12.8% of subjects were brushing twice a day. Overall females had more mean DMFT score than males. In males it was 3.48 and in females it was 3.98. 13.6% of subject’s required elective orthodontic treatment and 4.62% had severe or handicapping malocclusion. Conclusion: The mean DMFT score was higher in physically handicapped when compared to mentally retarded subjects. Mentally retarded subjects were having poor periodontal status than physically handicapped students.