Correspondence between the academic training of the stomatologist related to special patients and the integral stomatological practice

Abstract

A bibliographical updating on care to special patients (that patient presenting signs and symptoms that are far from being within the normal mental, sensorial or behavorial limits) is made. It was observed that in Spain and other European countries the academic institutions have pre-graduate, graduate and post-graduate courses where knowledge and abilities are acquired to give attention to these special patients. The patients are classified in 4 groups, according to their affections: group 1, patients with chronic degenerative diseases, such as diabetics, cardiopaths, nephropaths, blood dyscrasias, epileptics and others; group II, patients with diseases that cause motor deficit, where paraplegics, quadriplegics, hemiplegics and other patients are included; group III, patients with diseases that produce sensorial deficit, such as the blind, the deaf, the deaf-mute and others; group IV, patients with mental retardation according to the classification of mild, moderate, severe and deep mentally retarded. The characteristics of the oral diseases in special patients are described. It is concluded that in the future specialized personnel with adequate tools will be required for the oral treatments of this type of patients. Stomatological professionals will have to be trained to meet this demand. Epidemiological studies with risk approach should be conducted and clinical care should take the family into consideration, so that the stomatologists feel themselves committed and responsible for the attention to this type of person, for whom family support is essential.