The effectiveness of differing dental health education programmes in improving the oral health of adults with mental handicaps attending Birmingham adult training centres.
There are few published data available relating to dental health in adults with handicaps, or to the effectiveness of dental health education in this group. The present study involved 382 people attending four different adult training centres in Birmingham, UK. Following baseline examinations all participants were given oral hygiene instruction and a scale and polish. Each of the centres was then randomly allocated to one of the four treatment regimens. No specific treatment was provided for the control group; daily supervised toothbrushing was carried out by the participants in the other three groups, with the addition of a three-monthly scale and polish and reinforcement of oral hygiene instruction in group 3 and one-monthly input in group 4. The participants were re-examined after three months and then at six-monthly intervals until 24 months after the baseline examination. The results showed that those people left to their own devices to carry out toothbrushing at home following instruction were not achieving an acceptable standard. Those who were reminded, encouraged and motivated by the adult training centre staff were obviously capable of better standards of oral care. The input of an experienced dental hygienist on a regular basis improved the periodontal condition considerably. Although there were significant differences between the groups throughout the study, particularly in the presence of calculus, the differences between the one-monthly and three-monthly hygienist input were not clinically very apparent after two years, and therefore a one-monthly input would be difficult to justify on a cost benefit basis.
Shaw
M J
MJ
Birmingham Dental Hospital, University of Birmingham Dental School, St Chad's Queensway, UK.
Shaw
L
L
D000328:Adult; D003728:Dental Calculus / Q000453:epidemiology; D003730:Dental Care for Persons with Disabilities; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D003777:Dental Prophylaxis; D012534:Dental Scaling; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006267:Health Education, Dental; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability; D008297:Male; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000453:epidemiology; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D013997:Time Factors; D014099:Toothbrushing