Learning disabled people

People with learning disabilities have high dependency needs and high prevalence of physical, psychological and social morbidities. Some studies have shown that South Asian and white populations have a similar prevalence of learning disabilities and related psychological morbidity (McGrother et al, 2002), although other studies have shown an increased prevalence of severe levels of learning disabilities in the South Asian population (Emerson et al, 1997).

Background  Research on the dental health of people with intellectual disability has consistently reported more untreated dental disease, more extractions and fewer fillings than in the general population. This paper describes the oral health of participants at the 2005 Glasgow Special Olympics (SO), relating this to the general population studied in the 1998 UK Adult Dental Health Survey (ADHS) and to participants' age and region of residence.