Children With Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities: Do Physicians Ever Consider Needed Dental Care?

Effectiveness of training senior dental students on oral health care for disabled patients

“…This result was in accordance with the study conducted by Oredugba et al (21), in which 19.3% of respondents rated their management knowledge of disabled patients as adequate, with no significant difference in age and gender. Waldman et al (22) also reported that dentists tend to have a lack of knowledge about providing care for disabled patients. We noted that most of the present students agreed that it is important to receive a decent education about oral health care for disabled patients.…”

Intellectual Disability and Dental Services: Experience from Israel

“…People with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) have often been neglected by the dental profession, because of a variety of barriers, like insufficient professional knowledge and experience to treat this population, lack of cooperation by the person with IDD, lack of awareness by carers, inadequate facilities, and inadequate compensation for treating this population, who takes longer time to approach, assess, and treat (1, 2). …”

Addressing the oral healthcare needs of special needs children: pediatric nurses’ self‐perceived effectiveness

“…The major need for dental care and the poor dental health of special needs individuals has been well studied and documented;, however, there are no guidelines or clear definitions about the nurses’ role in oral health. Yet, in one prior study that documented the importance of assessing a patient's oral health status, the author states “care of the mouth is considered to be one of the most basic of nursing activities.” While the nursing profession has been the most willing to recognize the importance of proper oral health and its impact on overall health compared to all other nondental health care professions, the available literature shows that nurses have limited knowledge of oral health problems due to limited or nonexistent training in oral health assessments and dental care protocols .…”

“…It has been suggested that one of the key components to a successful community‐based health program lies in the ability of general health practitioners, who serve as medical gatekeepers for disabled individuals, to recognize and identify needed dental care services . Children with special healthcare needs are frequently seen by physicians and nurses, but not generally by dentists . The available literature shows that nurses have limited knowledge of oral health problems due to limited or nonexistent training in oral health assessments and dental care protocols .…”