The provision of oral healthcare services for individuals with intellectual disabilities is changing due to the ongoing healthcare and social services reform. After the reform, services will be provided through wider service structures, mostly within primary healthcare, resulting in more oral healthcare professionals encountering people with intellectual disabilities in their work. In this study, we investigated how online educational materials on encountering individuals with intellectual disabilities affected dental and dental hygienist students’ (n=45) understanding of, interest in and preparedness for encountering people with intellectual disabilities in oral healthcare. The data was collected by using a questionnaire during a course which included sections on treating and encountering patients with special health care needs. The educational materials received a good overall rating. The course contents related to clinical practice were considered to be slightly more interesting than the theoretical topics. Most of the students reported that they were more prepared after studying the educational materials. The dental students’ interest in treating individuals with intellectual disabilities increased more, compared to the dental hygienists. In conclusion, the online educational materials were considered to be useful. However, it is important to include clinical education on patients with intellectual disabilities in dental undergraduate education, for example, by shadowing experienced clinicians or integrating related content in an advanced practical training period.