Dental health education for the mentally and physically handicapped.

Dental disease is one of the most common health problems of Americans. It is one of the many health problems that handicapped children have in common with their non-handicapped peers. Research indicates that handicapped children have significantly more decayed and missing teeth than non-handicapped students. Methods of improving the dental health of handicapped children were explored. These methods included teacher education, development of special instruments, development of a directory of dentists who would treat the handicapped, and the role that parents should play in the dental health program. The plight of dental health care in the handicapped will continue unabated until health educators become more active in health education for all segments of the school population.