Cross-sectional study demonstrates greater orthodontic treatment need and poorer oral hygiene in children with autism, highlighting the need for tailored dental interventions.
Key Points
Assess and compare orthodontic treatment need, malocclusion distribution, and oral hygiene status between children with autism spectrum disorder and typically developing peers.
Conducted a cross-sectional comparative study involving 50 children with ASD and 43 age- and sex-matched typically developing controls aged 6–18 years.
Assessed orthodontic treatment need using the Index of Complexity, Outcome, and Need (ICON), malocclusion via Angle classification, and oral hygiene with the Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S).
Analyzed group differences using non-parametric tests and performed age- and sex-adjusted multivariable regression analyses.
ICON scores were significantly higher in children with ASD than controls (p = 0.024), remaining significantly elevated after adjusting for age and sex (adjusted B = 9.74, 95% CI: 2.95–16.53, p = 0.005).
Oral hygiene was significantly poorer in the ASD cohort (p < 0.001), with an adjusted odds ratio of 4.65 (95% CI: 2.05–10.56, p < 0.001) for placement in a worse oral hygiene category.
Angle classification did not differ significantly between groups (p = 0.118), and autism severity scores showed no significant correlation with ICON scores (rho = -0.152, p = 0.291).