Prevalence Of Preventive Dental Treatment Preferred By Medically Compromised Children In A Private Dental Institution-A Retrospective Study

Background: Medically compromised children and special children are categorized as a high risk group to develop oral disease. Preventive measures are necessary in order to control or prevent any oral complications. Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of preventive dental treatment preferred by medically compromised children. Materials and Methods: A total of 182 documented medical records of medically compromised children that fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria were collected for this retrospective cross sectional study. Demographic information, medical history, and recommended preventive dental treatments of the patients were collected. Results were analyzed with IBM SPSS version 23 to evaluate the acceptance and prevalence of preventive treatments by medically compromised children. Results: The results showed that the prevalence of acceptance towards preventive dental treatment was 28.6%, while the majority of the children did not undergo any preventive treatments (71.4%). The children preference towards preventive treatment was higher among 7-9 years of age group (7.7%) and higher preference was found among males (17.6%). According to type of preventive treatments, the prevalence of preference towards pit and fissure sealants (11%) was more compared to topical fluoride application (8.8%). Conclusion: Hence it can be concluded that the prevalence of medically compromised children preferring preventive dental treatment was relatively less. Most of the category of systemic diseases preferred very less preventive treatment except patients with nervous system disorder and the children preference towards preventive treatment was higher among 7-9 years of age group with boys being predominant. Pit and fissure sealant was the most preferred preventive treatment of choice than fluoride application.