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Oral health status in pediatric patients with cerebral palsy fed by oral versus enteral route.

AIMS
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a chronic, nonprogressive disorder affecting movement, posture, and tone, caused by injuries in the central nervous system during the early stages of life. Patients with CP have swallowing disorders, which make oral feeding difficult and necessitate the use of external feeding devices. The objective of this research was to study the oral health status of pediatric patients affected with CP fed by either oral or enteral route.


METHODS
A cross-sectional observational clinical study of the oral health of two groups of patients with CP, fed either orally or enterally (via percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, PEG).


RESULTS
Patients fed by enteral route via PEG presented lower caries scores (DMFT: PEG: 1.09, non-PEG: 2.81) and higher percentages of supragingival dental calculus than the oral feeding group (PEG: 86%, non-PEG: 57.6%).


CONCLUSION
Oral health status differed in pediatric patients with CP fed enterally via PEG and those fed orally. Specific preventive measures in both groups will be required to minimize the risk of complications.