The periodontal condition of institutionalized children; improvement through oral hygiene.

Periodontal disease in institutionalized children creates a troublesome problem. It is costly, both in terms of the residents' welfare and the clinical time necessary to treat the disease. The study by Cohen, et al.,3 reported that periodontal disease was present in approximately 96 percent of institutionalized mongoloid children (Down's Syndrome), and approximately 40 percent of nonmongoloid children of the same institution. This report indicated that the problem was great. Other researchers, for example, Johnson and Young,6 and Swallow,'* reported comparable findings. The periodontal conditions in the mongoloid children at Plymouth State Home and Training School, Northville, Michigan, have disturbed the Director of the Dental Department because of the time required for treatment. The Director's concern for these children initiated a project of research. It was planned through an intensified program of oral hygiene to attempt to decrease the prevalence and later the incidence of periodontal disease in a group of institutionalized residents, particularly the mongoloid children. It was planned, further, through an initial prophylaxis and 60 days of toothbrushing, twice daily, by two senior dental students of The University of Michigan to test the hypothesis which follows: A program of intensified oral hygiene will decrease comparably the severity and then the incidence of periodontal disease in both mongoloid and nonmongoloid institutionalized children.