Prevalence of dental trauma in individuals with special needs participating in local Special Olympics games

OBJECTIVES: The Special Olympics Special Smiles (SOSS) Program provides oral health screening and data collection for athletes with intellectual disabilities who participate in Special Olympics events. AIM: This study evaluated the prevalence and severity of dental trauma among Special Olympics athletes with intellectual disabilities who participated in the 2016 Israeli Special Olympics games. METHODS: A free voluntary dental examination was offered to all participating athletes. The examination was performed by volunteer dentists who completed a standard SOSS examination form, which included questions on oral health status and evidence of dental trauma in the anterior teeth. The dental traumas were categorized by a modified clinical version of the Ellis classification for dental traumas, and they were combined into three main categories according to their severity. Chi-square analysis was used to find differences between gender and age in regard to the prevalence of dental trauma. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 249 athletes with intellectual disabilities aged 10-65 years (mean 29.2 ± 11.24). The prevalence of dental trauma was 27.3%, of which 9.64% were categorized as mild and 17.67% as severe. Most of the traumas (94%) involved the maxillary incisors. CONCLUSIONS: The relatively high prevalence of dental trauma in special needs athletes revealed by this study's findings supports the need for using preventive measures, such as mouth guards, during sport activities.