INTRODUCTION
Dental caries remains today the most common infectious
disease which affects most of the population regardless of age.
Caries prevalence is high, and oral hygiene is not good, in poor
and developing countries as well as Albania. Several studies have
noted that children with disabilities have higher levels of caries,
periodontal diseases, and much higher proportion of untreated
lesions but less treatment than children without disabilities. Oral
health of these children depends on age, type of disability, severity
of impairment and living conditions. Other factors that cause
high caries prevalence, poor oral hygiene and high proportion of
untreated lesions are parents and caregivers lack of information,
knowledge and care about oral health of disabled children (1),
their socio-economic status and education level. Many individuals
with special needs may have great limitations in oral hygiene
performance due to their manual dexterity, sensory and intellectual
disabilities (5), and so are prone to poor oral health. Different
studies carried out for caries prevalence at disabled children
comparing that without disabilities shows contradictory results.
The aim of this study is to determine the caries prevalence and
oral hygiene status at children with various types of disabilities
attending different schools for disabled children in Albania.