[Special care dentistry for dependent elderly and people with disabilities]

In 2009, 7.1 million people (8% of the population) were officially recognized as having severe disabilities in the Federal Republic of Germany. At the same time, about 2.34 million Germans were in need of special care with some overlap between these groups. Although structured preventive programs in Germany helped to improve oral health generally (DMS IV 2006), care recipients and people with disabilities did not benefit to the same extent from this development. They often show a higher risk of caries and periodontal diseases due to both a lack of compliance and insufficient personal plaque control. It is desirable that care recipients and persons with disabilities attain the same level of oral health as persons without impairments. All care givers ought to be aware of the dental problems of these groups and should be sufficiently trained to deal with them. Dental care should compensate any deficits to ultimately attain the same standard of oral health. To achieve these goals, ease of access to dental care as well as dental services appropriate to the impairments have to be established.