Differences in dental health observed within a group of non-institutionalised mentally handicapped adults attending day centres.

A group of 350 mentally handicapped adults living in the community and attending three social services day centres were dentally examined in 1989. Although all those examined were collectively classified as a group of people with a mental handicap and therefore "a population group with special needs", great differences were observed in the dental health of the sub-groups attending each of the centres; it was evident that they did not constitute a uniform group of people. Those who were less mentally handicapped had better oral hygiene, less gingival inflammation, more fillings and fewer teeth extracted because of caries. Overall DMFT was similar at all centres but a greater proportion of the less handicapped group had active, untreated caries. Seventy-four per cent of the less mentally handicapped people attended the general dental services, and up to seventy per cent of those with a greater handicap were reported as attending the community dental service. Dental care for non-institutionalised mentally handicapped adults living in the community cannot be planned with the assumption that they are a homogeneous group of people.