Síndrome de Down e higiene bucal: Lineamientos para padres, cuidadores y docentes.

Abstract

The literature has highlighted the importance of providingparents, caregivers and teachers of people with special needs, such as people with Down Syndrome (DS), with useful information for performing adequate dental hygiene techniques; however, there is a lack of scientific resources of the kind in the Venezuelan context. Objective : The objective of the present paper is to provide some guidelinesfor the care of dental hygiene in people with DS. Results : The guidelines presented are addressed to parents, teachers and caregivers include a protocol for the assistance of those who cannot perform the techniques by themselves (assisted hygiene) and other for those who can (supervised hygiene). On the one hand, the assisted hygiene protocol is useful for offering higher life quality to people that due to the level of motor and intellectual handicap are not able to achieve the task on their own. On the other hand, the supervised hygiene protocol is useful in both home and school because it lets a single teacher to help small groups of persons with DS during the performance of dental hygiene techniques; in this sense the teacher does not only enhance the habit formation but also verifies the quality of the product of such a task. Conclusions : With the use of any of the aforementioned protocols it is possible to help people with DS to keep an adequate dental hygiene and thus to minimize the possibilities for presenting gums diseases as well as other oral health issues.