Dental care alternatives in children and adolescents with intellectual disability

Abstract

The Intellectual disability, representing about 3 to 5% of the world’s population, estimated approximately 400,000 cases in Venezuela. Much of which do not receive dental care, despite having a higher predisposition to develop caries and periodontal disease. Objective: Share tools and alternatives to the dentist can treat the patient individually, taking into account the degree of intellectual disability. Materials and methods: Documentary sources in six countries of which three are in Latin America: Spain, United States, Egypt, Argentina, Colombia and Venezuela between 1992 and 2012. Results: The dental care alternatives for children and adolescents with intellectual disability as observed and analyzed in the literature of Spain, Egypt, United States and Latin American countries, are based on techniques for conditioning, physical restraint, oral premedication, sedation and general anesthesia. Conclusions: The dental care for children and adolescents with intellectual disability suffers from deep flaws that very few specialists trained and vocation to serve these patients, so it is necessary to establish dental care alternatives that will serve help for professionals who wish to develop or start in the right and proper care for these patients.