Treatment needs and predictive capacity of explanatory variables of oral disease in young athletes with an intellectual disability in Europe and Eurasia

Authors

  • C Fernandez Centre of Special care in dentistry, PAECOMEDIS, Ghent University Hospital
  • I Descamps Centre of Special care in dentistry, PAECOMEDIS, Ghent University Hospital
  • K Fabjanska Special Olympics, Healthy Athletes Special Smiles
  • I Kaschke Special Olympics, Healthy Athletes Germany, Berlin
  • L Marks Centre of Special care in dentistry, PAECOMEDIS, Ghent University Hospital

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.23804/ejpd.2016.1.1

Keywords:

Dental screening, Europe, Intellectual disability, Oral health, Special Olympics, Young athletes

Abstract

AIM: To evaluate the oral condition and treatment needs of young athletes with intellectual disability (ID) from 53 countries of Europe and Eurasia who participated in the Special Olympics European Games held in Antwerp, October 2014. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was undertaken with data collected through standardised procedures from consenting athletes under 21 years of age. Oral hygiene habits, reports of oral pain and presence of gingival signs, sealants, untreated caries and missing teeth were recorded. Statistics: Data analysis was performed in SPSS to produce descriptive statistics and explanatory variables for untreated decay, and gingival signs of disease were tested with Multilevel Generalized Linear Mixed Models.