Oral health status and oral habits: A study on 33 rare diseases

Objectives: To analyze the patient profile and characterize the oral health status, oral habits, and daily oral hygiene difficulties of individuals with rare diseases. Methods: Data were collected from records of the clinic for people with disabilities at the Faculdade de Medicina Dent & aacute;ria da Universidade de Lisboa, using the Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth index, the simplified debris index, and the bleeding index. Results: The sample comprised 64 individuals with 33 different rare diseases, with a mean age of 31.5(+/- 10.29) years, predominantly male (54.7%). Most could move without difficulty (51.6%), required assistance in activities of daily living (60.9%), and were cooperative in oral hygiene (54.7%). Also, 40.6% could not communicate. Half of the sample brushed their teeth twice a day, with 18.8% being independent in this activity, and the most common toothbrushing difficulty was not being able to rinse (53.1%). The Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth index was 8.81 (+/- 7.54), with a higher number of filled teeth (4.47; +/- 5.35). The bleeding index had a mean of 1.23 (+/- 0.56), and the simplified debris index had a mean value of 1.62 (+/- 0.78). Conclusions: The population studied expresses care for oral health and treatment. (Rev Port Estomatol Med Dent Cir Maxilofac. 2023;65(2):66-75) (c) 2024 Sociedade Portuguesa de Estomatologia e Medicina Dent & aacute;ria. Published by SPEMD. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).