Oral hygiene management of autistic population
-- an investigation of their tooth brushing --

Yoshihiro TANABE, Yuuka ISHIKURA* and Tadashi NODA
Department of Pedodontics, School of Dentistry, Niigata University (Chief: Prof. Tadashi Noda)
Polyclinic Intensive Oral Care Unit, Niigata University Dental Hospital (Chief: Prof. Shoji Kohno)

Abstract :
　　The purpose of this study was to know the factors influencing on tooth brushing of autistic population. The subjects were 17 autistic patients who commuted to a welfare institution in Niigata city, aged from 16 to 27 years old. The parents of the subjects were asked to answer a questionnaire about the way of tooth brushing in their family life. The subjects were tested for their understanding about the mean of tooth brushing by some series of picture cards of oral health, tooth brushing and dental caries lesion. The behavior of each subjects was recorded on a videotapes in both situations of tooth brushing by themselves and by the help of a dentist. Then, in both situations, we estimated the time required for their tooth brushing and the brushing part of their dentition through the videotapes.
　　The results were as follows:
1. The result of questionnaire survey showed that 9 subjects (52.9%) were in the habit of brushing of their teeth every day, and 11 parents of subjects (64.7%) thought that their children could brush their teeth by themselves. Eight subjects (47.l%) had in the habit of brushing of their teeth with the help of their parents in family life.
2. Only 3 subjects (17.6%) could understand that the purpose of tooth brushing was to keep their oral hygiene well.
3. It was also shown that most of autistic subjects could brush their limited part of dentition by themselves. On the other hand, when a dentist helped their tooth brushing, they could brush the other parts of dentition which could not been brushed by themselves.
4. The multivariate analysis proved that the elder group or the subjects group understanding the mean of tooth brushing could brush their teeth better than the others.

back to contents