Knowledge and Oral Health Attitudes among Care Providers of Children with Intellectual Disabilities: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Intellectual disability is characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior, which covers many everyday social and practical skills. This disability originates before the age of 18 years. Intellectual disability is also known as mental retardation. This study was carried out to gauge the awareness of care providers of intellectually disabled children from two different institutions in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, India concerning their oral hygiene. A simple prestructured questionnaire was distributed among the care providers at two recognized institutions for children with intellectual disabilities in order to determine their knowledge and awareness as regards to the oral hygiene practices and significance of good oral health. The knowledge and awareness of parents was reasonable, but their oral health attitudes were lacking satisfaction. In spite of this. The study revealed that 83% of care providers were unaware about the importance of fluoride in prevention of dental caries, although 95.10% were interested in educating themselves about the importance of oral health.