The burden of oral health problems in children with mental health disorders in the United States

Effect of Individualized Oral Health Care Training Provided to 6-16-Year-Old Psychiatric In-Patients-Randomized Controlled Study

BACKGROUND

To assess the effect of individualized oral health care training (IndOHCT) administered to 6-16-year-old psychiatric in-patients on dental plaque removal.

METHODS

74 in-patients with mental health disorders (49 males) aged 6-16 years with a mean age of 10.4 ± 2.3 years, were randomly divided into two equal groups. At the start of hospitalization, one calibrated dentist assessed the oral health status in the hospital setting. In-patients of the intervention group (IG) received IndOHCT, while those of the control group (CG) got an information flyer. Dental plaque was assessed by the Turesky modified Quigley-Hein-Index (TI) at the start (t0) and at the end of hospitalization before (t1a) and after (t1b) autonomous tooth brushing.

RESULTS

During hospitalisation, the TI was reduced in both groups (t0→t1a: IG = -0.1; CG = -0.2, p = 0.71). However, in-patients receiving IndOHCT achieved significantly higher plaque reduction rates than the controls when plaque values before and after autonomous tooth brushing were compared (t1a→t1b: IG = -1.0; CG = -0.8; p = 0.02). The effect size (ES) demonstrates the efficacy of IndOHCT (ES = 0.53), especially in children with mixed dentition (ES = 0.89).

CONCLUSIONS

IndOHCT enabled hospitalized children and adolescents with mental health disorders to achieve a better plaque reduction by tooth brushing but failed to improve self-controlled routine oral hygiene.