The purpose of this study was to establish the Oral Health Care and Treatment Needs of special needs Children in Tarawa, Kiribati
Method:
Participants were all children (n=57) attending the School and Centre for Special Needs in Tarawa, Kiribati. Looked at all disabilities including physically challenged, intellectually challenged, deaf and dumb, blind and mixed disability with age range from 6-33 years. A cross sectional descriptive study with clinical screening under natural light with a mirror and probe using the WHO criteria was carried out. DMFT and CPI results from Part I of this study was utilized to establish treatment needs using Met Need Index (MNI) = M+F/DMF, Restorative Index (RI) = F/F+D and CPITN and summarized and described using percentages.
Result:
Met Need Index for all teeth examined was 18%, primary dentition was only 7% and permanent dentition was 26%. The Restorative Index for all teeth examined was 1%, primary dentition was 2% and permanent dentition was also 1%. The DMFT showed 80% was the D component suggesting a high proportion of untreated teeth. Only 30% had a CPITN score of 0. A total of 66% had CPITN scores with 2 and above indicating the need for periodontal treatment with 50% which had CPITN-2 indicating the need for calculus removal, while 16% had CPITN-3 and 4 indicating the need for periodontal therapy.
Conclusion:
Met Need Index and Restorative Index are extremely low indicating a desperate need of attention to address the untreated decayed teeth of this particular group. CPITN scores also indicate that majority of these children need periodontal intervention.