Carla Fernandez1, Imke Kaschke2, Steven Perlman3, Bjoern Koehler4, Luc Marks5. 1. Dental School, Centre of Special Care in Dentistry, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, 185 P8 De Pintelaan, 9000, Gent, Belgium. 2. Special Olympics Germany, Healthy Athletes, Berlin, Germany. 3. Dental School, Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Special Care, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA. 4. Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia, Healthy Athletes, Brussels, Belgium. 5. Dental School, Centre of Special Care in Dentistry, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, 185 P8 De Pintelaan, 9000, Gent, Belgium. Luc.marks@ugent.be.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Special Olympics athletes, as part of the population with intellectual disabilities, are reported to be more vulnerable to dental injuries due to poor lip closure, slow response to environmental obstacles, oral pathologic reflexes, or dental features. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of dental trauma among Special Olympics athletes in countries of Europe and Eurasia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective longitudinal study was performed with data collected through standardized Special Smiles screening forms and procedures from consenting 15,941 athletes participating in the annual Special Olympics held in 49 countries from Europe and Eurasia between 2007 and 2012. The data was compiled in an Excel worksheet and transferred to an SPSS data file in order to be analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 2190 athletes presented dental injury (13.02%) with a std. deviation of 5.02%, and there were no significant differences (p = 0.136) in mean dental injury between age groups (one-way ANOVA test). CONCLUSIONS: The present data suggest that dental trauma is an actual problem among individuals with special needs. The distribution of prevalence among the different countries had a remarkable variability, but it is evident that a relatively high proportion of this population is in need of dental trauma preventive programs.
BACKGROUND: Special Olympics athletes, as part of the population with intellectual disabilities, are reported to be more vulnerable to dental injuries due to poor lip closure, slow response to environmental obstacles, oral pathologic reflexes, or dental features. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of dental trauma among Special Olympics athletes in countries of Europe and Eurasia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective longitudinal study was performed with data collected through standardized Special Smiles screening forms and procedures from consenting 15,941 athletes participating in the annual Special Olympics held in 49 countries from Europe and Eurasia between 2007 and 2012. The data was compiled in an Excel worksheet and transferred to an SPSS data file in order to be analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 2190 athletes presented dental injury (13.02%) with a std. deviation of 5.02%, and there were no significant differences (p = 0.136) in mean dental injury between age groups (one-way ANOVA test). CONCLUSIONS: The present data suggest that dental trauma is an actual problem among individuals with special needs. The distribution of prevalence among the different countries had a remarkable variability, but it is evident that a relatively high proportion of this population is in need of dental trauma preventive programs.