Physical and/or mental handicaps are known to directly or indirectly compromise hygiene habits including oral hygiene. It is recommended that handicapped patients, their parents or care workers require from an early stage dental health education and active involvement in preventive programmes. This study surveyed the oral hygiene of paraplegic patients in a specialised centre to determine their oral hygiene needs. Most patients had moderate to poor oral hygiene and gingivitis was prevalent and severe. Plaque and gingivitis was increased in quadriplegic compared to hemiplegic patients. The data indicate that as part of rehabilitation of paraplegic patients there is a need for oral hygiene programmes to be established.

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This elective study was conducted at the Dental School, University of Wales College of Medicine and at the University of Wales College of Cardiff School of Pure and Applied Biology. The student's interest in oral microbiology and desire to contribute to the work being performed in the field of oral microbiology, led him to concentrate his study on developing a DNA fingerprinting method to evaluate the putative new species of the genus Capnocytophaga. The genus Capnocytophaga, which contains Gram-negative, capnophilic fusiform-shaped bacteria, has been implicated in juvenile periodontitis and prepubertal gingivitis. However, the genus is also part of the normal oral flora. The student believed that there was an implication of the existence of both pathogenic and non-pathogenic strains of Capnocytophaga and developed a method of DNA fingerprinting to distinguish Capnocytophaga strains from clusters identified by Khwaja et al. The student felt that the study allowed insight into the tremendous potential of molecular techniques for furthering the understanding of dental disease and confirmed his ambition to pursue a career in academic oral microbiology. This area of study allows new associations to be made between specific bacteria and diseases, aiding the possibility of rapid and early diagnosis.