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Query: UMLS:C0025362 (mental retardation)
 15,878 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Mentally retarded individuals are, since 1984 a priority group for the Norwegian public dental health service. This group of patients may have many problems which affect oral health. Difficulties with feeding are common, as are various oral motor problems like rumination, bruxism, mouth breathing and drooling. The impaired oral function may cause retention of food, reduced self-cleaning from lips and tongue and long-term use of puree food. Obstipation is a common problem which is often treated with prunes, raisins or sweetened laxatives. In behaviour modification programs sweets are often used as rewards. Tooth cleaning may cause problems for many parents and caretakers due to lack of cooperation or anatomical malformation of oral structures or teeth. Dental treatment may also be difficult to perform. Recent research in Nordic countries supports earlier reports that mentally retarded individuals have a high incidence of plaque, periodontal disease and malocclusion. Caries does not seem to be a problem. Nevertheless, older individuals with mental retardation have more untreated caries and missing teeth than average. Early intervention with oral motor training and frequent regular preventive treatment (4 x per year) will reduce caries, periodontal disease, early tooth loss and the need for treatment under general anesthesia in the future.
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PMID:[The mentally retarded and the dental health services. Treatment needs and preventive strategies]. 183 93

We examined the functions of five severe problem behaviors in a sample of 417 institutionalized persons with mental retardation by using the Questions About Behavior Function Scale. The behaviors we examined included self-injurious behavior, aggression, stereotypies, pica, and rumination. The most common function for all behaviors except aggression was nonsocial. Aggression, however, was maintained by external environmental contingencies. Particular items of the Questions About Behavior Function Scale were identified as more frequently occurring and critical in ascertaining behavioral function. Implications of these results for developing more effective treatment plans are discussed.
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PMID:An evaluation of functional variables affecting severe problem behaviors in adults with mental retardation by using the Questions about Behavioral Function Scale (QABF). 1037 14

Research has demonstrated that providing extra and sometimes unlimited food quantities following meals can be effective in reducing or eliminating ruminative vomiting in persons with developmental disabilities. In this study, providing access to white bread was evaluated as an alternative method of satiation-based treatment of rumination displayed by an 18-year old male with mental retardation. White bread was made available during 1-h periods following daily meals and this intervention produced a reduction in ruminating to near zero levels throughout the young man's waking hours. Long-term follow-up assessment revealed maintenance of low-frequency responding. Issues related to satiation treatment programs for ruminative vomiting are discussed.
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PMID:Access to white bread as an intervention for chronic ruminative vomiting. 1048 89

Differences in subscale scores on the questions about behavioral function (QABF) were assessed for participants identified with pica, rumination, food stealing, food refusal, and mealtime behavior problems (e.g., aggression, self-injurious behavior). The QABF was administered to informants for 125 individuals identified with problematic feeding behaviors and mental retardation primarily in the severe to profound range. Results of the nonparametric analyses yielded significant differences across the escape, nonsocial, physical, and tangible subscales of the QABF. Behavior functions most commonly associated with problematic feeding behaviors were identified. The results extend upon previous literature describing behavioral function of feeding problems for those with mental retardation.
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PMID:The behavioral function of feeding problems as assessed by the questions about behavioral function (QABF). 1576 32