Abstract
Mouth rinsing is an effective means of fluoride application for prevention of dental caries. It has been reported that autistic preschool children have delays in acquisition of mouth rinsing ability. The aim of the present study was to clarify the readiness for mouth rinsing in autistic children. Fifty-eight autistic children between 3 and 6 years old were investigated in regard to chronological age, developmental age, and mouth rinsing ability. Cut-off points for developmental age in each domain were examined to discriminate mouth rinsing ability and the following results obtained.1.Forty-three (74.1%) of the subjects were able to perform mouth rinsing.2.There was no relationship between chronological age and mouth rinsing ability in all domains.3.Developmental age was significantly older in the group of subjects able to perform mouth rinsing in all domains.4.As for developmental age in each domain, the cut-off points obtained were as follows : speech, 1 year 4 months ; fundamental habits, 2 years 4.5 months ; hand movements, 2 years 3 months ;language understanding 1 year 5 months ; personal relationships, 1 year 7.5 months ; and locomotion, 3 years, each of which was correlated with the age of mouth rinsing ability acquisition.5.The most significant correlation with mouth rinsing ability acquisition was seen in the speech domain. The predictive value and odds ratio were 75.9% and 9.1, respectively.Our results indicate that mouth rinsing instruction will be more effective for autistic preschool children when language development at a constant rate is balanced with individual development.
