Barriers To Dental Care for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder- A Pilot Study

Abstract

Context: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of lifelong, neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by severe impairment of social reciprocity, communication and behavior. Complexity in barriers to dental care may be due to behavioral, emotional or developmental disturbances, inability to communicate and financial disincentives. Objective: To assess the barriers to dental care for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Materials and method: A cross sectional, case control questionnaire based study was done to evaluate the main hurdles to dental care experienced by children with ASD in Mangalore city. The study group comprised of parents / care takers of children aged 3-12 years with ASD attending special schools in Mangalore city. The questionnaire comprised of closed ended questions, regarding individual barriers while accessing dental care and the proportions of individual barriers to dental care. The data obtained was evaluated using Chi-square test and Fischer’s exact test. Significance was deemed at p˂0.001. Results: 83.9% of the respondents reported difficulty in managing the behavior of the children with ASD. Other barriers reported were the child’s inability to communicate and dentist’s lack of knowledge and training children with ASD. Conclusions: This research has given an insight into the barriers to dental care experienced by children with ASD in Mangalore city. Access to general practitioners and pediatric dentists should be facilitated by awareness and health policies. Specialized training of dentists and dental students to manage children with special needs should be mandatory. Clinical implications: This research identified potential barriers to dental care experienced by children with ASD from the perspective of parents/care givers in Mangalore city. This has allowed a greater understanding of the issues that may be faced by this diverse group. It is crucial to gain a better understanding of how these problems could be ameliorated. Dentists should adapt their practices to meet the needs of children with ASD and accept that the needs of children with ASD differ from those of other children.