Drooling and Dental Caries in Children with Cerebral Palsy - Is There Any Link?

Background Drooling is commonly witnessed in children with cerebral palsy CP and can be distressing not only for the affected children but also for their parents andor caregivers. Dental caries prevalence is also quite common among this population. Since both drooling and dental caries may be related to improper oral muscle function this study aimed to examine the correlation between these two persisting issues in children with CP.Objectives To assess the correlation between dental caries scores and drooling parameters among children with CP.Methods Criteria advocated by World Health Organization WHO for assessing dental caries and the Drooling Severity and Frequency Scale DSFS for evaluating drooling were employed to examine children diagnosed with CP. Children of both genders aged four to fourteen years were conveniently selected from institutions and schools for differently abled to participate in this cross-sectional study.Results No significant correlation was observed between the drooling parameters - drooling severity and drooling frequency and the deft and DMFT scores of the primary and permanent dentitions respectively P gt0.05.Conclusion No correlation was found between drooling parameters and dental caries. However studies involving larger and more diverse populations of CP including various subtypes as well as investigation into the impact of interventions are needed in the future.