Oral Hygiene Level of Down Syndrome Children in Bandung City

Oral hygiene is an important factor in supporting dental and oral health as well as the whole body health. Down Syndrome (DS) is a genetical anomaly in the form of Chromosome 21 triplication that might cause retardation of physical growth and development and also mental retardation. The aim of this study was to find out the level of oral hygiene of DS children in Bandung. This was a descriptive study using survey technique. The sample were 30 DS children from a School of Handicapped Children (SLB) in Bandung, collected by multistage cluster sampling. Clinical examination on the subjects using OHI-S Greene and Vermillion index. The result showed, of the 30 DS children/subject, 18 (60 %) had poor oral hygiene; 10 (33.3 %) had moderate, and only 2 (6.67 %) had good oral hygiene. The level of oral hygiene of DS children in Bandung was 3.10. It concluded that the oral hygiene of DS children in Bandung is poor category.