Evaluating the effectiveness of instruction in oral hygiene for mentally retarded boys.

Preventive dentistry has received so much attention from both the dental profession and the public during the past few years that several new approaches to dental health education have been developed. The report which follows will describe the results of a two-month, oral-health, educational activity conducted by faculty and students from the University of Michigan. The study included 60 boys between the ages of eight and 13 years at the St. Louis School for Exceptional Boys in Chelsea, Michigan. The investigating group adapted and then applied some of the technics currently advocated for oral health education to a population of mentally retarded boys a t a private boarding school. The results obtained by the activity were encouraging and it now is hoped that additional clinical evaluations can be completed with the same group of boys.