Empirical and Essay Studies

Health Risks for Students Requiring Special Treatment in Relation to Their Teeth and Mouth

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2025-09-28
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Copyright (c) 2025 Dr. Faragó Ildikó , Dr. Egri Tímea , Dr. Rucska Andrea , Kovács Mihály

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Faragó, I., Egri, T., Rucska, A., & Kovács , M. (2025). Health Risks for Students Requiring Special Treatment in Relation to Their Teeth and Mouth. Special Treatment - Interdisciplinary Journal, 11(3), 27-36. https://doi.org/10.18458/KB.2025.3.27
Abstract

Mapping the oral health of pupils with special needs is a missing research goal, and our research team focused on equal access to health in this objective. We conducted our studies among students of the Miskolc Éltes Mátyás EGYMI and among patients attending a day-care dental clinic under general anaesthesia in a private health care institution in Miskolc. We searched for data on dental procedures performed in 2023 in the same-day surgery department of the University of Debrecen Clinical Center Dental Clinic of the Department of Dental Surgery under Anesthesia (DEKK) among disabled patients from our previous studies.  Sample: 104 persons (mean age: 10 ± 4.9 years) had their dental screening and diagnosis recorded in 2024 at the EGYMI in Miskolc. The number of children with special needs attending anaesthesia dentistry in 2024 is 28, with a BNO code and recording of dental interventions. The DEKK patient turnover in 2023 was 301. The total number of patients was 115 children and 186 adults, 111 women and 190 men. Result: the most common BNO diagnosis was autism spectrum disorder in all three institutions. The results of the dental examination showed a high number of cavities and a high percentage of gingivitis in all groups studied. During the procedures performed under anaesthesia, 42 tooth extractions were performed in Miskolc and 768 in Debrecen. 47 tooth fillings were made in the remaining dentition in Miskolc and 587 in Debrecen. The preventive activity for the maintenance of gingivitis is tartar removal; the number of this intervention is significantly lower than the number of tooth extractions in the present examined samples. In Miskolc, 3 cases of tooth scaling were performed, and in Debrecen, 87 cases. This is also a preventive intervention in children to prevent dental caries.    Conclusion: the oral health of this population is significantly worse than the Hungarian average; therefore, prevention is of particular importance in this group, both in terms of dental education and in terms of preventive activities that can be carried out in practice. In this educational work, both teachers and social workers can play a role. The problem is exacerbated by the precarious nature of patient pathways in the public sector.