During 1991, an oral health assessment of 101 adults with developmental disabilities aged from 21 to 53 years was undertaken as part of a broader health survey which also included medical, psychological and nutritional assessments. The study group consisted of a random sample of adults chosen from the developmentally disabled population known to be living in the lower North Shore area of Sydney. This paper describes the results of the oral health assessment and compares them with an oral health survey of the Australian population done in 1987/88. Forty-six per cent of the study group were males (mean age 33.5 years) and 54 per cent were females (mean age 33.0 years). Compared with similar age subgroups in the Australian population, the following factors were more frequently reported in the developmentally disabled group: a dental visit in the last 12 months (65 per cent vs 50 per cent; Odds Ratio (OR) 1.9:95 per cent Confidence Interval (CI): 1.3-2.8); use of public rather than private dental services (42 per cent vs 6 per cent; OR 11.3:95% CI 7.5-16.9); oral mucosal pathology requiring treatment (15 per cent vs 2 per cent; OR 8.5:95% CI 5.2-13.8); severe periodontal disease (16 per cent vs 3 per cent; OR 6.9:95% CI 4.2-11.4); and moderate to severe malocclusion (26 per cent vs 11 per cent; OR 2.1:95% CI 1.3-3.5). Fiftyeight per cent of subjects felt they needed no dental treatment but on examination of the oral mucosa, periodontal tissues and teeth, over 90 per cent were found to require some sort of dental treatment.

Patients with intellectual disabilities often fail to follow traditional tongue position instructions for panoramic radiographs resulting in missed pathology or unnecessary further radiation. This simple breathing technique is a new clinical instruction method for panoramic radiography developed to reduce the most common patient position error: patient failure to hold the tongue to the roof of the mouth. The technique is suitable for all patients including young patients and those with intellectual disabilities. The simple breathing technique uses ‘tell‐show‐do’ communication methods and does not mention the tongue but utilises the known tongue positions that occur during breathing and swallowing. This simple breathing technique instruction for panoramic radiography uses a demonstration of ‘breathe‐in, breathe‐out, swallow, lips closed and hold still’ to reduce the intensity of both the palatoglossal and pharyngeal airspaces on panoramic radiographs. This method, referred in this article as the simple breathing technique, can improve the diagnostic potential of panoramic radiographs and can be used with young children and patients with intellectual disabilities, and this slow breathing technique can help them further relax.

Introduction: Life expectancy for people with Down syndrome (DS) has increased to 60 years, although poor oral health affects their quality of life. Panoramic radiographs (PRs) are usually well-tolerated by people with DS and can provide valuable diagnostic data for treatment planning and research. Methods A scoping review of peer-reviewed articles published between 1971and 2021 was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews to determine the scope of use of PRs for people with DS.Results: 937 papers were screened, and 52 papers were included and charted into seven categories in this review. A high prevalence of tooth agenesis (TA) and other anomalies were reported in 45% of papers. Severe periodontal disease was considered characteristic of DS in the 1970s-80s and the benefit of timeconsuming treatment was questioned. Since 2000 case reports illustrate that improved oral care, orthodontic treatment, and dental implants under local or general anaesthetic can improve the quality of life for people with DS. Conclusion: PRs play an important role in the diagnosis of anomalies, periodontal disease, and implant planning for patients with DS. This review highlights the gaps in research of caries, pathology, TMJ, systemic disease indicators, and guidelines for dentists. Systematic PR viewing, with a knowledge of characteristic features of DS, will assist diagnosis of pathology and improve comprehensive dental care treatment planning for children and adults with DS.

A new challenge in teaching radiology to dental students