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Updated: May 13, 2026

Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
Dental care among young adults with intellectual disability
Vijaya Kancherla1, Kim Van Naarden Braun, Marshalyn Yeargin-Allsopp
1Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Abstract:
Dental care among young adults with intellectual disability (ID) is poorly documented and largely unmet. By using population-based data from the Metropolitan Atlanta Developmental Disabilities Follow-Up Study, we assessed factors associated with at least one or two dental visits per year among young adults with and without ID. Significantly fewer young adults with ID (45%) visited a dentist at least once per year, compared with those without ID (58%). ID severity and the presence of co-occurring developmental disabilities predicted dental care use. Sociodemographics, daily functioning, societal participation, dental services, and dental health factors were examined as predictors of dental care frequency. Our findings can help focus efforts toward improving the frequency of dental care visits among young adults with ID.
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