Short-term impact of an oral health program for adults with cerebral palsy.

Aim: To evaluate the impact of an oral health program for institutionalized individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) and their caregivers, after 2 and 6 months.

Methods: Sixty-two CP individuals in four homes were selected for intervention group (n = 31) and control group (n = 31). An oral hygiene practices questionnaire was applied to all caregivers at the baseline. Both groups received awareness sessions, practical demonstration of toothbrushing and adaptive techniques with role-play. In the study group, individual oral hygiene monitoring was also performed in the first 2 months. A gingival and an oral hygiene indexes were performed at the beginning, after 2 and 6 months of intervention.

Results: There was a significant reduction of gingival (p < 0.001) and oral hygiene (p < 0.001) indexes at 2 and 6 months in the intervention group with the most significant reductions at 2 months. Caregivers reported opening the mouth (84.6%) and swallowing toothpaste (61.5%) as the most important difficulties in performing toothbrushing.

Conclusion: It was found that frequent and individualized monitoring of plaque control was essential to reduce dental plaque and gingivitis levels and that awareness sessions were not enough to produce clinically significant result.