Occurrence of gingivitis and oral hygiene in individuals with down syndrome

Objective: To determine the frequency distribution of gingivitis and oral hygiene in individuals with Down syndrome. Material and Methods: This study used a cross-sectional descriptive method and the subjects were 174 individuals with Down syndrome aged ≥14 years attending type C (intellectual disability) special needs schools in Jakarta. Gingivitis was measured using the gingival index, and oral hygiene was measured using the Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S). The measurement of the two components of plaque and calculus was completed on six teeth on different surfaces, including the facial side of three maxillary teeth, the lingual side of the two posterior mandibular teeth, and the labial side of one anterior mandibular tooth. Descriptive statistics were used to calculate the absolute and relative frequencies. Results: 3.4% had no gingivitis, 47.2% had mild gingivitis, 40.8% had moderate gingivitis, and 8.6% had severe gingivitis. Regarding oral hygiene, 28.2% had good hygiene, 49.4% had fair, and 22.4% had poor hygiene. Conclusion: Individuals with Down syndrome had a frequency distribution of gingivitis mainly in the mild and moderate categories, and a majority of subjects had fair OHI-S.