Pediatric Dentistry Dental Management of Mentally Retarded Patients

Mental retardation is one of the major disorders in the category of development disabilities, the others being cerebral palsy, epilepsy and autism. The American Association on Mental Deficiency has defined mental retardation as "significantly sub-average intellectual functioning which exists concurrently with deficit in adaptive behavior, and is manifested during the developmental period"1. "Significant sub-average intellectual functioning" refers to an intelligence quotient (IQ) of 70 or below, i.e., that an individual with IQ of 70 or below would be considered as mentally retarded. "Existing concurrently with deficit in adaptive behavior" means that these individual do not have the personal independence and social responsibility expected of their age and cultural background. The mentally retarded children do no have language skills and social interaction of normal children of same age. As these children grow and become adults, they have limited chances of earning a living, maintaining a family and becoming an integral part of society. The last part of the definition "during the development period" indicates that the deficit appears before the age of 18 years.