Special oral hygiene and preventive care for special needs.

Many dental patients have special preventive needs related to dental caries and periodontal disease, and most patients with intellectual or physical disabilities have specialized needs. This article suggests that these needs often go overlooked. To best care for patients with these needs, the dental practitioner should identify special oral hygiene needs among his or her patients, provide them with oral hygiene instruction and implement the specific oral hygiene preventive and treatment procedures described here.