The oral health of people with intellectual disability participating in the UK Special Olympics.
Special-Olympics adults with ID show good cavity repair but still lose teeth faster than the public and need close dental follow-up.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers looked inside the mouths of UK Special Olympics athletes. All had intellectual disability. They counted cavities, fillings, and missing teeth.
The team wanted to know how this group's dental health compares to the general public.
What they found
Athletes had fewer untreated cavities and more fillings than average adults. Yet they also had fewer natural teeth overall.
Five percent needed urgent dental work. Forty percent needed non-urgent care. In total, nearly half required some treatment.
How this fits with other research
Wormald et al. (2019) extends these numbers. They show adults with ID lose all their teeth three to four times faster than peers, even outside sports programs.
Vassos et al. (2023) digs deeper. Missing teeth plus weak lip seal explain over half of chewing problems in young adults with ID.
Together the three papers draw a line: people with ID get cavities filled faster, yet still wind up with fewer teeth and weaker chewing.
Why it matters
You can teach tooth-brushing and schedule dental checks, but tooth loss keeps happening. Add lip-seal exercises and monitor antipsychotic use, since both speed loss. Document each missing tooth and watch for eating issues; refer early for dentures or soft-food plans so clients keep nutrition and dignity.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Research on the dental health of people with intellectual disability has consistently reported more untreated dental disease, more extractions and fewer fillings than in the general population. This paper describes the oral health of participants at the 2005 Glasgow Special Olympics (SO), relating this to the general population studied in the 1998 UK Adult Dental Health Survey (ADHS) and to participants' age and region of residence. METHODS: Consenting SO participants were offered oral examinations which followed the standardized SO protocol plus an innovative soft tissue examination. Urgency of any treatment required was noted and reported to participants and carers. Three measures of good dental health--having 21 or more natural teeth, absence of fillings and having no obvious untreated decay--were compared across age groups, regions and with the general population. Logistic regression was used to control for age differences between regions. RESULTS: In total, 1021 oral examinations were completed. Older SO participants were more likely to have fewer than 21 teeth and to have fillings, untreated decay, gum inflammation and heavy plaque levels. In all, 28% of SO participants had 21 or more teeth, no fillings and no obvious decay. Those from the north, midlands and south regions of England had significantly more chance of good dental health so defined compared with participants from Scotland [ORs 1.67 (1.09, 2.67), 1.69 (1.12, 2.54), 1.99 (1.26, 3.16), respectively]. Compared with the general population surveyed in the 1998 ADHS study, SO participants were more likely to be free from fillings and obvious untreated decay, but fewer had 21 or more natural teeth among older age groups. Nine per cent were found to have soft tissue problems, and one in four of these required follow-up. Gum inflammation was common. Overall, 5% of participants were judged to require urgent treatment for dental or soft tissue problems and 40% to require non-urgent treatment. This rose to 9% and 66% respectively among those aged 35 years and over. DISCUSSION: The low prevalence of untreated decay and fillings among SO participants compared with the general population may be due to their being well supported by family and carers. The study identifies the vulnerability of the older participants to dental problems, and this may indicate greater difficulty maintaining surveillance as individuals age or informal carers become less able or available. Regional variations are similar to those found in the general population. The implications for the organization of care for this group are discussed.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2008 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2007.00971.x