[Study of the etiologic factors of bucco-dental pathology in handicapped children and adolescents].
Periodontal diseases and dental caries are extremely frequent in children and adolescents with sensori-motor handicaps. This study was undertaken to identify etiological factors of these affections in order to define preventive measures. During a 3-year-period, a survey was performed among 994 handicapped children and adolescents from 14 institutional centres of the Rhône-Alpes Region. Factors appearing significantly involved in the etiology of periodontal diseases and dental caries among this population were insufficient brushing, lack of motivation towards oral hygiene of the institution, is staff the severity of the motor handicap, and long-term treatments with psychopharmaceutical agents. The authors suggest that preventive measures should be taken in order to eliminate these disabling dental diseases in handicapped children, mainly a reduction in sugar intake, a motivation of the staff to enforce oral hygiene and a limitation of psychopharmoceutical treatments.