Treatment needs and predictive capacity of explanatory variables of oral disease in young athletes with an intellectual disability in Europe and Eurasia.

AIM: To evaluate the oral condition and treatment needs of young athletes with intellectual disability (ID) from 53 countries of Europe and Eurasia who participated in the Special Olympics European Games held in Antwerp, October 2014. METHODS: A cross- sectional study was undertaken with data collected through standardised procedures from consenting athletes under 21 years of age. Oral hygiene habits, reports of oral pain and presence of gingival signs, sealants, untreated caries and missing teeth were recorded. STATISTICS: Data analysis was performed in SPSS to produce descriptive statistics and explanatory variables for untreated decay, and gingival signs of disease were tested with Multilevel Generalized Linear Mixed Models. RESULTS: Five hundred three athletes participated in this study (mean age 17 yrs). Untreated decay was recorded in 33.4% of the participants and 38.7% of them had signs of gingival disease. Absence of untreated decay was associated with lower chances of gingival signs, while absence of sealants was related with higher chances of untreated decay. CONCLUSIONS: There is consistent evidence of persistent need for increased promotion of oral health, as well as preventive and restorative treatment in young athletes with ID in Europe and Eurasia. Due to the limited predictive capacity of the studied variables for oral disease, further studies including other related factors are needed.

[Special care dentistry for dependent elderly and people with disabilities]. / Zahnmedizinische Betreuung von Pflegebedürftigen und Menschen mit Behinderungen.

In 2009, 7.1 million people (8% of the population) were officially recognized as having severe disabilities in the Federal Republic of Germany. At the same time, about 2.34 million Germans were in need of special care with some overlap between these groups. Although structured preventive programs in Germany helped to improve oral health generally (DMS IV 2006), care recipients and people with disabilities did not benefit to the same extent from this development. They often show a higher risk of caries and periodontal diseases due to both a lack of compliance and insufficient personal plaque control. It is desirable that care recipients and persons with disabilities attain the same level of oral health as persons without impairments. All care givers ought to be aware of the dental problems of these groups and should be sufficiently trained to deal with them. Dental care should compensate any deficits to ultimately attain the same standard of oral health. To achieve these goals, ease of access to dental care as well as dental services appropriate to the impairments have to be established.

[Oral health in adult athletes with intellectual disabilities in Germany]. / Mundgesundheit erwachsener Athleten mit geistiger Behinderung.

In 2008 the summer games of Special Olympics Germany took place in Karlsruhe, Germany. The athletes were offered on site the opportunity to have a voluntary and free dental examination. The examinations were performed by dental clinicians in rooms which were equipped with dental chairs. Data were collected following the criteria of WHO. 420 adult athletes took part in the dental examination. Their age ranged between 18 and 70 years and their mean age was 30.8 years. Nearly two thirds of the participants were males. The caries prevalence of the athletes was 90.8% (95% confidence interval 86.9-92.8%). The mean DMFT value was 9.4. Athletes who were living with their families had a significantly lower mean DMFT value than those living in an institution. In 22.1% of the examined athletes at least one fissure sealed tooth was observed. 58.8% presented with gingivitis and 21% had received prosthodontic care. 95% of the athletes brushed their teeth alone. Only 28% used an electric toothbrush. Less than 7% used regularly a gel with high fluoride concentration. This study shows that persons with intellectual disability still have a poorer oral health than the general population. In order to improve dental health and quality of life in persons with intellectual disability, efficient preventive programmes should be developed and applied in cooperation with parents, relatives and caregivers.

[Possibility for the improvement of dental diagnostics using endoscopy optics]. / Möglichkeiten der Verbesserung der stomatologischen Diagnostik unter Verwendung von Endoskopen.

Results of investigations with endoscopy optics for dental microdiagnostic are reported. Submicroscopical structures of 10 microns can be identificated on definated test objects. Investigations of extracted teeth using endoscopy optics show the advantages for the necessary microdiagnostic.

[New demands of dental early diagnostics problems and present approaches in the field of research methodology]. / Zu neuen Erfordernissen der stomatologischen Feindiagnostik-Problemdarstellung und gegenwärtige forschungsmethodische Ansätze.

For the purpose of prevention and early therapy it is necessary to replace empiricism by a diagnostics which can be reproduced, and by objective qualitative and quantitative findings. Traditional and new methods are to be used in combination.