Characterization of oral health in a Portuguese population with mild intellectual disability

Abstract

Aims This study aims to characterize the hygiene habits, the self‐perception of the need for treatment and the oral condition of a population with a disability. Methods and Results This research is part of an observational, cross‐sectional epidemiological study on oral health and quality of life of people with mild intellectual disabilities living in (or attending) institutions of the Central Region of Portugal that were affiliated with HUMANITAS (Portuguese Federation for Mental Disability) in 2016. A sociodemographic and oral health questionnaire, applied on the form of an interview to 240 individuals aged between 18 and 64 years, was used. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 22.0. It was verified that 32.9% of the individuals had less than 20 teeth. Only 15% of all individuals used removable prosthesis. About 21% didn't do oral hygiene daily. Only 28.4% of the sample visited the dentist in the last 6 months. Note that 75.2% of the sample stated their need for dental treatment and less than half (37.4%) described their oral condition as good or superior. Conclusion Dental care among adults with intellectual disability is one of the most unattended health needs. Evidence suggests that inadequate oral health habits are more prevalent in the studied population than in the Portuguese population.

Brazilian special olympics athletes: Oral health problems

“…The results de Couto et al. (2019), 33 in institutions of the central region of Portugal, allow for na awareness of these individuals’ needs, of the barriers of access to health care, of the importance of the role of caregivers, the need to train health professionals specialized in the care of special patients, and of the unquestionable importance of establishing public programs to support this population's oral health. In brief, and despite some progress, dental care among adults with mild intellectual disability is one of the most unattended health needs 33 …”

“…18 This reality found in this study, shows us that there is a great difficulty in accessing and solving the oral health problems of people with intellectual disabilities, corroborating the study by Oliveira et al (2013), 32 who claim that, The access to oral health services was unsatisfactory, thus it is important to implement educational and health promotion inclusion policies for people with ID. 32 The results de Couto et al (2019), 33 in institutions of the central region of Portugal, allow for na awareness of these individuals' needs, of the barriers of access to health care, of the importance of the role of caregivers, the need to train health professionals specialized in the care of special patients, and of the unquestionable importance of establishing public programs to support this population's oral health. In brief, and despite some progress, dental care among adults with mild intellectual disability is one of the most unattended health needs.…”

“…In brief, and despite some progress, dental care among adults with mild intellectual disability is one of the most unattended health needs. 33 This study reports on a oral screening of subjects with intellectual disabilities attending the Brazilian Special Olympics Athletes in the years 2015 to 2019. The results indicate that Brazilian Athletes Special Olympycs have a high prevalence of some dental diseases.…”

Prevalencia de gingivitis inducida por biofilm dental en escolares con discapacidad intelectual de la “Unidad Educativa Especial del Azuay” y de la “Escuela de Educación Básica Fiscomisional San José de Calasanz” en la ciudad de Cuenca - Ecuador

“…(Fernandez Rojas et al, 2016;Baumgarten et al, 2021;Bagattoni et al, 2016;Nuernberg et al 2019;McGrath et al, 2019) Según varios estudios internacionales sobre el estado de salud gingival de las personas con discapacidad intelectual, reportan mayor prevalencia de gingivitis en el género masculino, resultados que fueron observados por Silness. (Couto et al, 2019;Zamora et al 2017;Ningrum et al 2020).…”

“…En consecuencia, la promoción de la salud y las medidas preventivas son fundamentales en la terapia periodontal y más aún en aquellos casos en los que existen deficiencias en la capacidad motriz, cognitiva o de comportamientos adaptativos. (Bagattoni et al, 2016;Chadwick et al, 2018;Couto et al, 2019;Ziegler & Spivack, 2018) Según la Asociación Estadounidense sobre Discapacidades Intelectuales y de Desarrollo: "La discapacidad intelectual es una capacidad reducida para comprender información nueva o compleja, para aprender y aplicar nuevas habilidades caracterizadas por importantes limitaciones tanto en funcionamiento intelectual y en la conducta adaptativa expresada en términos conceptuales, sociales, y habilidades prácticas de adaptación. Tiene su origen en el cerebro cuyo análisis científico (desde la anatomía, la genética, la neuroquímica, la fisiología, la neuropsicología, la psicología clínica y la expresión conductual) nos muestra que se encuentra limitado para alcanzar determinados niveles de: funcionamiento intelectual (capacidad amplia y profunda para comprender nuestro entorno, incluye el razonamiento, la planificación, la resolución de problemas teóricos y prácticos, el pensamiento abstracto, la comprensión de ideas más o menos complejas, el aprendizaje rápido y el aprendizaje a partir de una experiencia) y conducta adaptativa (habilidades en las diversas dimensiones conceptual, social y práctica que son aprendidas por las personas para funcionar en su vida diaria)".…”