March 2013

Volume 30, Issue 1

Caries experience and treatment need in adults with intellectual disabilities in two German regions

Authors: A.G. Schulte K. Freyer A. Bissar
doi: 10.1922/CDH_2999Schulte06

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study was to determine the caries experience, caries prevalence, dental treatment need and care index of adults with intellectual disabilities living in the German federal states of Baden-Württemberg and Sachsen which differ distinctly with respect to the socio-economic conditions. Research Design: In 2007, legal custodians of all persons working in special day-care institutions (n=2037) were asked to give consent for dental examinations of their custodees. Some 21.9% consented. Thus, 428 persons received a dental examination in the day-care institutions. Results: The mean age of the participants was 35.5 years (range 18–64). Caries prevalence was 93.7% (95% CI 91.3–95.9) in Baden-Württemberg and 97.6% (95% CI 96.2–99.0) in Sachsen. All caries-free persons (n=19) were younger than 35 years. The mean DMFT of the whole sample was 12.3 (95% CI 11.6–12.9). Although DMFT values were the same in both German regions, persons from Baden-Württemberg had more missing teeth than those from Sachsen but untreated carious defects were more common in Sachsen. Conclusions: Dental care for those with intellectual disabilities could be better harmonised within Germany. Furthermore, specific dental care and dental treatment strategies could be introduced in Germany in order to reduce caries prevalence and number of extracted teeth in persons with intellectual disabilities. Key words: oral health, intellectual disability, dental caries, dental treatment need

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Other articles in this issue

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Editorial - The British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry at forty: our professional project 2-4 Download
Acknowledgement of Referees 5-5 Download
Dental Public Health in Action - Challenges encountered when conducting a dental health needs assessment of older people resident in care homes: experience from England 6-9 Download
Rare diseases with oral components: care course and quality of life 10-14 Download
Fluoridation and dental caries severity in young children treated under general anaesthesia: an analysis of treatment records in a 10-year case series 15-18 Download
Measuring determinants of oral health behaviour in parents of preschool children 19-25 Download
The self-reported oral health status and dental attendance of smokers and non-smokers 26-29 Download
Attitudes towards the use of fluorides for oral health among Islamic clerics in Kelantan Province, Malaysia 30-33 Download
The views of examiners on the use of intra-oral photographs to detect dental caries in epidemiological studies 34-38 Download
Caries experience and treatment need in adults with intellectual disabilities in two German regions 39-44 Download
Attitudes towards establishing a daily supervised school-based toothbrushing programme - determined by Q-sort methodology 45-51 Download
Oral health literacy comparisons between Indigenous Australians and American Indians 52-57 Download
Associations between oral health and height in an Indigenous Australian birth cohort 58-64 Download

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