Orthodontic care for the behavior‐challenged special needs patient

Despite having a high prevalence of functionally compromising malocclusions, individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities do not regularly receive necessary orthodontic treatment. Patients with behavior challenges are unlikely to be offered this treatment option. However, with appropriate behavior management interventions and pharmacologic sedation, orthodontic treatment becomes a possibility for clinicians to consider. Parents will likely seek out clinicians who can provide this type of advanced orthodontic care. Additional training is now becoming available as accredited Fellowship Programs in Craniofacial and Special Care Orthodontics are developed. Hopefully, the clinical examples described in this article will no longer be unique in the area of special care dentistry.     

Periodontal treatment needs in 12–16-yr-old children from Santo Domingo

The purpose of this study was to determine the periodontal treatment needs, using the CPITN, in 12-16 yr-old children from private and public schools from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. A total of 1080 children was studied (540 in private schools and 540 in public schools). More children from private schools were seen without signs of periodontal disease than in public schools. More children from private schools showed no need for treatment. There was no statistical difference between children from private and public schools regarding the treatment need categories I and III. However, for the treatment need II category (oral hygiene-scaling), the children from public schools showed a slight increase in need over the private schoolchildren. Combining private and public schools, 12.9% of the 1080 children examined needed no treatment, 5.9% needed treatment I, 80.8% needed treatment II, and 0.4% needed treatment III.