Oral Health Care Services Available to Mentally Retarded Individuals in Public Residential Facilities

<p>A growing awareness of the rights of institutionalized persons to receive comprehensive health care, including dentistry, has led to increased legislation in favor of handicapped individuals including the mentally retarded. Mentally retarded persons have a right to adequate health care, education, training rehabilitiation, and guidance that will enable them to develop their ability and maximum potential.</p> <p>Mental retardation has in the past been defined as a condition that exists solely within an individual; more recent definitions have shifted to include "a condition that is an interaction between an individual and a particular environment. The environment in which a mentally retarded person resides greatly influences his/her ability to reach maximum developmental potential. For example, living in home-like settings provides retarded persons the opportunity to develop adaptive behaviors. The realization of the significance of environmental stimuli on development has led to the trend of "mainstreaming" of many mentally retarded citizens. Mainstreaming involves the relocation of some institutionalized mentally retarded individuals into the community with their family or in a home-like setting to facilitate their development. In the case of severely retarded residents, the institutions are trying to provide a home-like environment within the institution.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Dental Hygiene

Year dc:date.available

1980

Author dc:creator

• Mattox, Marilynn

Contributors dc:contributor

• Michele Darby
• Deanne Allen
• Lindsay Rettie

• Community dental services
• Disabled people
• Mainstreaming
• Dental Hygiene
• Dental Public Health and Education

Statement dc:rights

• <p>In Copyright. URI: <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).</p>

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/dentalhygiene_etds/10

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.odu.edu:dentalhygiene_etds-1010