Special Needs Dentistry has recently been recognised as a dental specialty in Australia. In states other than Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia, this patient cohort would predominately be managed by the general dentist, making a study into aspects of their perception with this patient group pertinent in other States of Australia. This is further reinforced by the fact that there are no registered Special Needs specialists in Western Australia. This study aims to investigate the perception of Special Needs Dentistry amongst general dental practitioners in Western Australia. Materials and methods: A postal questionnaire was distributed to 1000 dentists practicing in Western Australia. The questionnaire recorded sociodemographic characteristics, perceptions of Special Needs Dentistry (awareness and definition), perception of Special Needs Patients (clinical exposure according to the categories of aged care, physically disabled, intellectually disabled, medically compromised, infectious diseases, and psychiatric problems), criteria for referral of Special Needs Dentistry patients, and perception of Special Needs Dentistry education. Quantitative data was analysed using Chi-squared statistical analysis (p ≤ 0.01). Results: Approximately a third of dentists received undergraduate training in Special Needs Dentistry. The majority demonstrated adequate knowledge in defining Special Needs Dentistry and reported providing treatment to such patients. Inadequate experience and difficulty in managing behavioural problems were quoted as the main reasons for not treating patients with SN, although a high percentage of dentists felt positive in providing treatment to most groups except those with psychiatric issues. While most dentists expressed interest in undergoing continual professional development courses in Special Needs Dentistry, most were not keen on pursuing postgraduate education in this field. Conclusion: Dentists in WA were variable in their approach to those with special needs. University curricula and continual professional development in Special Needs Dentistry may improve dentists' knowledge, attitudes and skills in managing these patients. However, in order to further direct the growth of Special Needs Dentistry, more research is needed into factors that may influence dentists' willingness to treat this patient cohort.

Irregular dental attendance patterns are associated with poor oral health outcomes of self-rated oral health, experience of dental pain, caries in permanent teeth, periodontal disease and edentulism-conditions ranked prominently in the top 50 causes of disabilities. 1 Poor oral health outcomes can be more pronounced among individuals with disabilities than those without disability as maintaining regular and preventive dental attendance can be challenging. 2,3 Barriers include age, access to services and financial

Special Care Dentistry (SCD) or Special Needs Dentistry is a branch of dentistry concerned with the oral health of people with a variety of medical conditions or limitations that require more than routine delivery of care. There were reports on oral status of special care patients and special interest group for SCD dentists in Indonesia has existed. However, there was not perception report on SCD amongst dentists in Jakarta. This paper will describe the perception of dentists in Jakarta towards SCD. A cross-sectional questionnaire, translated and cross adapted to Indonesian, was distributed online through Whatsapp to dentists registered in Jakarta late 2019. Quantitative data was analyzed using statistical software for proportion and correlation using Chi-Square test. The questionnaire explored dentists’ perception towards SCD. A total of 250 dentists participated in this study, of them 173 general practitioners and 77 specialist dentists. Most respondents reported that they did not have SCD component during undergraduate dental school and did not provide treatment to patients with special needs in their clinical practice. Most respondents have poor perception of SCD, however, most of the respondents showed motivation and interest towards SCD training. Dentists in Jakarta involved in this study had poor perception of SCD. More efforts should be performed to improve SCD education and awareness.

This study finds that the incidence of oral cancers in Western Australia is not inconsistent with other parts of Australia and fundamentally shows there is a rural-urban difference for oral cancer.

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