Oral health in preschool children with cerebral palsy: a case– control community-based study RENNAN Y. DU 1 , COLMAN MCGRATH 2 , CYNTHIA K. Y. YIU 1 & NIGEL M. KING 1 1 Paediatric Dentistry, and 2 Periodontology and Public Health, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry 2010; 20: 330– 335 Objectives. To assess and compare the oral health status of preschool children with and without cerebral palsy (CP). Methods. Preschool children with CP (72) were recruited from 23 Special Child Care Centers in Hong Kong. An age (±3 months) and gender matched sample of preschool children from main- stream preschools were recruited as the control group. Dental caries status, gingival health status, tooth wear, developmental defect of enamel, mal- occlusion, dental trauma and oral mucosal health were assessed and compared between the two groups. Results. Significant differences in gingival health status were found between children with and without CP (mean plaque index scores, P = 0.001 and mean gingival index scores, P < 0.05). Tooth wear involving dentine was more prevalent among CP children (P < 0.001), as were evidence of anterior open-bite (P < 0.001) and oral mucosal lesions (P < 0.05). Children with and without CP had similar caries experiences (P > 0.05), preva- lence of enamel defects (P > 0.05) and dental trauma (P > 0.05). Conclusions. Differences of oral health status exist among preschool children with and without CP. Preschool children fare worse in terms of gingival health, tooth wear, oral mucosal health and mal- occlusion. Introduction Cerebral palsy (CP) is a range of non-progres- sive syndromes of postural and motor impair- ments that result from an insult to the developing central nervous system in early childhood 1 . The worldwide prevalence of CP among live births is estimated to be between 1.9 and 3.6 per 1000 2–5 . CP is associated with numerous health problems, including disor- ders of the development of movement and posture, neuromuscular disorders, gastrointes- tinal problems and disturbances to the central nervous system resulting in intellectual dis- ability, visual and hearing impairments as well as seizures in many cases 6,7 . It is also recognized that CP can have direct and indirect effects on oral health status. Neuromuscular problems inherent in CP can result in changes in the structure of the oro- facial region and the development of para- functional habits such that malocclusions and tooth wear are common 6,8 . Experience of dental trauma is also highly prevalent due to instability as a result of neuromuscular defects and ⁄ or seizures 9,10 . There are conflict- ing reports with respect to overall dental caries experience among children with CP; with some reports suggesting a high level dental caries, or at least a high level of untreated decay 11–13 . Gingival health is often reported to be poor due to difficulties in maintaining oral hygiene as a result of poor neuromuscular control and ⁄ or other health priorities 14,15 . However, reports on the oral health status of children affected by CP have for the most part been limited to clinical sam- ples, have lacked control comparison groups and have been very selective in terms of oral health aspects studied. The objectives of this study were to conduct a community based oral health survey among preschool children with CP and to compare Correspondence to: Colman McGrath, 3B12, Dental Public Health, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, 34 Hospital Road, Sai Ying Pun, HKSAR, China. E-mail: mcgrathc@hkucc.hku.hk Ó 2010 The Authors 330 International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry Ó 2010 BSPD, IAPD and Blackwell Publishing Ltd DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-263X.2010.01062.x