Debate & o p i n i o n Time to Improve Access to Oral Health Care for Persons with Special Needs

utoronto.ca Dental care is one of the top unmet health needs of persons with special needs. Research has shown that this popula-tion bears a greater load of oral disease, in-cluding caries and periodontitis, than the general population.1-3 With recent evidence demonstrating a strong relationship between oral disease and other general diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, persons with special needs have an increased risk for de-veloping more severe health problems.4-6 Within this context, the need to improve ac-cess to oral care for the special needs popula-tion is evident. Unfortunately, persons with special needs often have a difficult time finding dental car