A total of 356 questionnaires were returned (177 men, 179 women). Mean age of the dentists was 50.3 years (SD 11.9) and 75% obtained their degree more than 20 years ago. 72.5% of all dentists replied that they had not been instructed in how to treat children with DS during their dental educational training, whereas this is only the case for 39% of the dentistswho obtained their degree less than 10 years ago. Half of the group indicated that additional training and education would be (very) desirable (52.8%).
Conclusions:
Dentists don't seem to feel comfortable in treating children with DS and refer them to a special care dentistry centre in a hospital. It is positive that dentists are in favour of obtaining additional training and education to help them feel more confident in treating children with DS in daily practice. However we must not conclude that because students or qualified dentists received such training that they will automatically treat more patients with special needs