The oral health status of the disabled has generally been poorer than the general population as the treatment and care afforded to them has been minimal. This paper examines the relationship of the various types of disabilities to dental health status. The dental status of a random sample of 322 disabled children aged between 6 and 18 years was assessed. The children had various disabilities: intellectual, hearing, visual, and musculo-skeletal. Most differences in the prevalence and severity of the dental conditions assessed among the children in the various disability groups were not significant. However, in comparison with normal schoolchildren aged 6 to 18, the disabled children had higher levels of disease and received less dental attention.

In the course of a recent experiment a group of 314 mothers with very young children were visited at home by a dental health educator on three occasions. Mothers were given advice about dental health for their children and were offered a free supply of fluoride drops. Results drawn from questionnaires completed at each home visit suggested that dental health education given in this way was able to influence maternal attitudes and behaviour. Virtually all mothers accepted the offer of fluoride drops for their children and after 14-16 months, 65% of the group were still using the supplements.

Prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis was assessed in 1739 Singaporean children aged 9, 12 and 16 yr in three different ethnic groups. All subjects had resided since birth in Singapore, which has a tropical climate. The water supply was fluoridated in 1957 at a level of 0.7 ppm. In this sample, mouth prevalence was 82.6%, tooth prevalence was 66.9%, the community fluorosis index was at 1.96; 9.2% of children had severe fluorosis and 26.2% had moderate fluorosis. There were no significant gender or racial differences. Prevalences were higher than those reported in most other studies. Due to differences in indices used and methodology, comparisons could not be made directly with other studies.

This study examines factors influencing the use of dental services by disabled children. A total of 322 disabled children, aged 6 to 18 years, attending nine special schools were randomly selected for a clinical examination. Their parents or guardians were interviewed to determine the child's pattern of dental service use, parental perception of the child's dental needs, and special problems encountered with seeking care. It was found that 68.3% of the children had never visited a dentist within the previous year. The most common reason given for no care was an assumption that "nothing was wrong." The results indicated a low rate of dental service use among the disabled children. A lack of parental dental awareness appeared to be a major contributory factor.

The prevalence and distribution patterns of enamel defects in maxillary incisors was assessed in 194 Singaporean children aged 11-15 years and belonging to three different ethnic groups. All were born and continuously resident in Singapore, which has a tropical climate. The water supply was fluoridated in 1957 at a level of 0.7 ppm. The mouth prevalence of defects was 71.5 per cent and the tooth prevalence was 55.9 per cent; 82 per cent of all affected teeth demonstrated white lesions of various forms. Although there was no sex difference in the prevalence and distribution pattern of defects, some racial differences were observed. The results were compared with data from other studies where the same classification of defects was used.