Dentofacial findings in Down's syndrome: report of case

Abstract

Provision of dental services to the mentally subnormal in our society is relatively neglected. A patient with Down's syndrome who sought dental treatment is reported. Following the assessment of the patient, he needed orthodontic - surgical treatment and scaling and polishing. The former was not given due to the cost, complications and stress of such an involving procedure vis-a-vis the benefit to such a patient. However, patient received thorough scaling and polishing with emphasis on routine 6- monthly dental check-ups given. Handicapped individuals are beginning to seek dental services and the percentage of them doing so is likely to increase as more of such individuals are now staying in the normal home setting. Early preventive treatments for such patients are encouraged. Therefore, the dentists and the rest of the therapy team should be sensitized to face the challenge of providing services to them.