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AimTo assess oral health inequalities between differently‐abled and healthy school children.MethodsThe study was conducted on a sample of 300 differently‐abled and 300 healthy school children in Bengaluru. A calibrated investigator recorded oral health status according to World Health Organization (WHO) proforma 2013. Chi‐square/Fisher exact test, Mann‐Whitney U test, and multiple logistic regression were applied. A p‐value < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.ResultsMean DMFT in the study group and the control group was 1.32 ± 1.36 and 1.25 ± 1.21 respectively. In the study group, 52.7% had gingival bleeding compared to 41.0% in the control group. Within the study group, children who belonged to the lower middle class (aOR = 2.02) were more likely to have caries experience whereas visually impaired children (aOR = 0.32), speech and hearing impaired children (OR = 0.10), children suffering from polio (aOR = 0.80), and those with caries‐free in deciduous dentition (aOR = 0.42) were less likely to have caries experience in permanent teeth (p < 0.05).ConclusionOral health inequalities exist for differently‐abled children. Hence, improvement of their oral health status and priority care are needed.

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