The oral health of adults with learning disabilities: A secondary analysis of the Adult Dental Health Survey 2009.
Community Dent Health
; 41(2): 111-116, 2024 May 31.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38373221
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
Adults who have learning disabilities are a vulnerable group, little is known about their oral health and how this affects their quality of life. The aims of this secondary analysis of data from the 2009 Adult Dental Health Survey (ADHS) were to describe the oral health status of adults with learning disabilities, determine if severity of learning disability is associated with oral health and identify some of the methodological complexities of working with this population. The survey yields the most recent representative data on the oral health of adults with learning disabilities in England and importantly, contains information about oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL). BASIC RESEARCHDESIGN:
Secondary analysis of data from a supplemental survey of adults with learning disabilities collected alongside the 2009 ADHS.PARTICIPANTS:
607 participants with a diagnosed learning disability aged 18 years and over.RESULTS:
Adults with learning disabilities had similar levels of active dental caries, fewer natural teeth, and fewer fillings than comparable participants from the general population. Self-reported oral and general health were worse for adults with learning disabilities than the general population. Possible associations between the severity of learning disability and the numbers of decayed, missing or filled teeth were identified. However, large amounts of missing data limited the analysis.CONCLUSIONS:
There are important questions relating to the accessibility of existing self-reported oral health questionnaires and the reliability of proxy-reported questions about OHRQoL that should be addressed to give a fuller picture of the oral health of adults with learning disabilities.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Dental Health Surveys
/
Oral Health
/
Learning Disabilities
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
En
Journal:
Community Dent Health
Journal subject:
ODONTOLOGIA
/
SAUDE PUBLICA
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United kingdom