Resumo

MORALES CHAVEZ, Mariana C. Patologías Bucodentales y Alteraciones Asociadas Prevalentes en una Población de Pacientes con Parálisis Cerebral Infantil. Acta odontol. venez [online]. 2008, vol.46, n.1, pp.52-55. ISSN 0001-6365.

The Cerebral Palsy (CP) compromises a group of developmental disorders, resulting in motor and posture limitations.  The cause for these are “non-progressive disturbances” that take place in-uterus, or during infant brain development.  The motor disorders associated to CP also result in multiple development sensorial, cognitive, perception, communication, behavior alterations, as well as seizures. For most CP patients, the dental pathologies and oral-facial dysfunctions become a severe health problem.  About 10% of the world population has some sort of this incapacity, and three quarters of these do not receive “odontological” attention, worsening considerably their quality of life. The objective of this study is to determine the presence of dental pathologies on CP-diagnosed pediatric patients.  The study considered several alterations associated with the main disease, which are directly related with malfunctions of the stomatognathic system, seizures and self-injuries.  The specific alterations considered included dental caries, enamel alterations, periodontal disease, oral candidiasis, dental maloclusions, bruxism, and drooling, among others. The study base was 30 patients between 3 - 12 years of age, treated in the Red Cross “Destistry Clinic for handicapped patients”, in Valencia, Spain.  The methodology consisted of data collection via surveys given to the parents of the children, as well as their clinical chart. Data is presented on graphs and charts, showing percentages of presence of each pathology, resulting in alarming figures for many of the items under study.  To close the analysis, results are compared with previous documented results, providing recommendations on actions that could be taken to improve the oral health of these patients.

Palavras-chave : Discapacidad; Parálisis Cerebral Infantil; Patología Buco- Dental Prevalente.