Institutionalized orphan children reside in children's homes in Sivas, Turkey.

To evaluation the oral and dental health of orphaned children, DMFT, deft, GI, PI and CPITN indices were used to assess dental caries experience, gingival inflammation, the amount of plaque on the tooth surface and periodontal status, respectively.

Oral and dental examination was done by a specialist pedodontist, and DMFT index (total number of decayed, filled, and missing teeth) was recorded.

In order to determine the gingival inflammation of the participants, the Löe & Silness gingival index values (GI) were evaluated by a specialist periodontist by scoring the mesial, distal, lingual and vestibular gingival conditions of the teeth (16, 11, 24, 31, 36, 44) determined in each sextant between 0 and 3 (Score 0: healthy gingiva, no inflammation, Score 1: mild inflammation, discoloration and mild edema in the gingiva, no bleeding on probing, Score 2: moderate inflammation, redness and edema in the gingiva, bleeding on probing, Score 3: severe inflammation, redness and edema in the gingiva, spontaneous bleeding).

In order to determine the amount of plaque on the tooth surface of the participants, Silness & Löe plaque index values (PI) were evaluated by a specialist periodontist by scoring the mesial, distal, lingual and vestibule gingival conditions of the teeth (16, 11, 24, 31, 36, 44) determined in each sextant between 0 and 3.(Score 0: No bacterial plaque on the tooth surface. Score 1:There is plaque in the form of film and can be seen with the help of a probe. Score 2:There is moderate soft attachment visible to the naked eye. Score 3:There is a visible dense soft appendage filling the gingival sulcus on the tooth surface.)

CPI values used to determine the need for community periodontal treatment were determined by a specialist periodontist by scoring between 0 and 4 (Score 0: healthy periodontium, Score 1: bleeding after probing, no calculus/iatrogenic irritation, Score 2: presence of supra and/or subgingival calculus, presence of iatrogenic perforation, Score 3: presence of shallow pockets between 3.5 and 5.5 mm, Score 4: presence of pockets deeper than 5.5 mm). The following scores were used to determine the TN values. (Score 0: No need additional treatment, Score 1: oral hygiene instruction improvement in personal oral hygiene, Score 2: scaling oral hygiene instruction, Score 3: periodontal treatment infected tissue, Score 4: complex periodontal treatment.)