Periodontal status and treatment needs of 12-15 year old institutionalized mentally handicapped school children in Ibadan, Nigeria.

Mentally handicapped children are known, to have poor periodontal health. But previous studies lack conformity due to the use of different indices by the different authors. Twenty-five institutionalized mentally handicapped school children in Ibadan, Nigeria were studied with the aim of assessing their periodontal health and per treatment needs using the CPITN which is known to be simple and has international uniformity. The result showed that none of the children had healthy periodontium and all the children will need oral hygiene care with a significant percentage (8%) requiring complex periodontal care. The need for comprehensive preventive dental program is discussed since the hallmark of management of the children is prevention.