A focus on promoting early oral health in young children with developmental delay (CDD) is critically important to interrupt the pattern of oral disease and its sequelae in later childhood and life. However, the oral health of CDD is an understudied area. Although oral health and habits established during early childhood almost certainly influence future oral health, little is known about the parental beliefs and behaviors that influence oral health in young CDD. Given the dearth of knowledge about the oral health and habits of infants and toddlers with DD, we propose to undertake research to characterize the oral health status and habits of CDD who receive services through the federally mandated Infant Toddler Early Intervention Programs (ITEIP) at neurodevelopmental centers (NDCs) in 2 diverse counties in Washington State. Subjects will include CDD 12-37 months and their parents. There are 3 objectives to this study: 1) To determine the prevalence of dental caries, gingivitis, plaque presence, and dental erosion among randomly selected CDD between 12-37 months of age attending NDCs; 2) To develop a valid and reliable instrument to characterize oral health beliefs and behavior of parents of CDD; and 3) To determine the extent that parental oral health beliefs influence behaviors, and in turn, how parental oral health behaviors influence CDD oral health. At the end of this proposed research, we will have developed a model of the relationship between parental oral related beliefs and oral health behavior and oral health status that will allow the implementation of interventions specifically targeted at improving the oral health of CDD... ? ? ?
| Lewis, Charlotte W (2009) Dental care and children with special health care needs: a population-based perspective. Acad Pediatr 9:420-6 |
