Dental diagnostic problems of potential genetic significance: the dental practitioner as geneticist in the developmental disabilities clinic.

A high incidence of aberrant dental formation can be anticipated in developmentally disabled children, particularly where the etiologic factors for developmental retardation are presumably of organic origin. The dentist, practicing in the developmental clinic, must frequently determine the developmental significance of such dental variation. In this capacity, his familiarity with the dental features of genetic disease can contribute significantly to more precise diagnosis.