Dental health management for children with special healthcare needs.

Good dental health is essential for good communication, nutrition and self-esteem. There is evidence of a correlation between special needs, unequal access to dental care, poor dental health and insufficient improvement in dental services, particularly for children with special healthcare needs. Factors contributing to this situation include the characteristics of the individual's disability, parental education and socioeconomic status, lack of appropriately trained dentists and a lack of research in the UK to guide progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]