ASSESSMENT OF THE DENTAL STATUS OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED CHILDREN DUE TO THE ARMED CONFLICT IN UKRAINE
Abstract
Introduction. Modern epidemiological studies show that the child population is highly vulnerable to the effects of social, environmental and economic factors, which is particularly relevant in the context of forced displacement due to military conflict. Internally displaced children are a group at increased risk of developing dental pathologies due to a number of adverse factors, including psycho-emotional stress, limited access to medical and preventive dental care, changes in diet and deterioration of hygiene skills.
The aim of the study: to study the characteristics of the dental status of children internally displaced as a result of the armed conflict in Ukraine.
Materials and methods. The study was conducted at the Department of Paediatric Dentistry of the I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and included a comprehensive assessment of the dental status of internally displaced children affected by the armed conflict in Ukraine. International standards for the diagnosis of dental caries were used to assess the dental status of the study participants. In particular, the prevalence of caries was determined as a percentage and its intensity was assessed using the DMFT index (DMFT+dft, dft). The condition of the periodontal tissues was analysed using the modified PMA index (C. Parma, 1960), which allows the degree of inflammatory changes in the gingival tissues to be assessed. The oral hygiene status was determined using the OHI-S index (Green, Vermillion, 1964), which is a generally accepted standard for assessing the level of oral hygiene.
Results. The prevalence of caries in temporary teeth in internally displaced children aged 6–7 years was 86,27±4,82 %, in permanent teeth – 23,53±5,94 %, and increased to 89,34±2,79 % in adolescents aged 14–16 years. The intensity of caries (DMFT index) of temporary teeth in children aged 6 years was high (6,01±0,231), that of permanent teeth in children aged 12 years was average (3,52±0,122) and that of adolescents aged 15 years was high (4,91±0,242). In the structure of the DMFT index, the “D” component was predominant in all age groups, ranging from 57,67 % to 87,10 %. The level of oral hygiene (OHI-S index) was described as unsatisfactory, ranging from 1,86±0,020 to 2,08±0.025, and the PMA index values corresponded on average to moderate gingivitis.
Conclusions. Thus, the dental and oral hygiene status of internally displaced children is significantly worse than that of their peers from the general population of children and adolescents in Ukraine.
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