Oral Needs & Barriers to Oral Care in Hospitalized Children

Objectives: It has been commonly observed that hospitalized children have poor oral hygiene and a high prevalence of oral diseases as compared to the general population. Their ailing health and hospital stay prevents them from maintaining their oral hygiene. This study was conducted to assess oral health needs of hospitalized children and enlist possible barriers to dental care of hospitalized children. Methods: A cross sectional study conducted in a public institute of National Institute of Child Health (NICH), Karachi, Pakistan. Children admitted in the hospital ward were included for the study purpose. An opportunistic sampling methodology was employed to fulfill the sample size. A semi-structured questionnaire was used that was adapted from a similar study conducted in Logos Nigeria in 2008. Results: It was observed that no concept of oral health need exists amongst these targeted subjects. Foremost barriers to oral health care that was observed were those related to lack of awareness of oral health needs on part of all three, that is, the patient, attendant and the hospital staff. Conclusion: There is a strong need for the oral health awareness amongst the hospitalized children so that the children are able to express their oral health needs. It is also required that policies may be targeted towards integration of oral health into general health after training of medical and paramedical staff for promoting and maintaining dental health of hospitalized children. By then parental education on diet modification may be intended to keep oral health of their hospitalized children.