Comparison of Dental Caries Experience and Associated Treatment Needs between Autistic and Healthy Children

There are few studies investigating the oral health condition of the autistic children, rendering conflicting results. Regarding this, the present study aimed to compare the autistic and normal children in terms the caries experience.
This cross-sectional study was conducted on 70 children with autism and 70 healthy children with the age range of 8-12 years. The participants’ age, gender, and parental education level were recorded. The number of the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT; both permanent and primary) was determined. The data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U and Chi-square tests. P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
According to the results, the paternal education level of the autistic children was significantly higher than that of the normal children (P=0.002). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups regarding their maternal education level (P=0.051). Additionally, the autistic and normal children showed no significant difference regarding the DMFT index in the primary (P=0.53) and permanent (P=0.85) teeth. Moreover, the autistic children had more unmet dental needs in primary dentition, compared to their normal counterparts (P=0.002).
As the findings of the study indicated, the autistic and normal children had comparable DMFT index. However, the unmet dental needs of the autistic children in the primary dentition were higher than those of the normal children.