Attitude and willingness of pediatric dentists regarding dental care for children with developmental and intellectual disabilities

Abstract

Aim: Children with developmental and/or intellectual disabilities (DD/ID) are considered to be at greater risk of developing dental disease and are more likely to have unmet dental needs than other children. The purpose of this study was to determine the attitude and willingness of pediatric dentists and residents to provide dental care for children with DD/ID. Methods:Two surveys were created and emailed via SurveyMonkey ® to pediatric dentists and post-doctoral student members of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.Results: Five hundred and seventy-four pediatric dentists (9%) and 143 pediatric dentistry residents (13%) responded. Ninety-nine percent of the practicing pediatric dentists do provide dental care for children with DD/ID. Ninety-six percent of the practitioners are confident/very confident in treating these children with nonpharmacological methods, while 86% are confident/very confident with pharmacological methods. Among the residents, 99% are willing to provide dental care to children with DD/ID after they graduate. Eighty-six percent of the residents are confident/very confident in treating these children with nonpharmacological methods, while 70% are confident/very confident with pharmacological methods. Conclusion:Pediatric dentist and resident respondents to the survey were overwhelmingly willing to provide dental care for patients with DD/ID and are confident with pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatment modalities.

Oral Care for Children with Special Healthcare Needs in Dentistry: A Literature Review

“…Casamassimo (2014) asserts, “only small percentages of dental practitioners make CSHCN a portion of their practice” [ 36 ]. Within this scenario, the majority of paediatric dentists became default practitioners for all children, including children with special needs [ 91 ]. For this reason, many paediatric dentists lack the necessary specialisation in treating children with special needs.…”

Qualitative inquiry from multiple perspectives of barriers and facilitators of oral health care for adults with disabilities

“…Providers who engage in training programs, Continuing Education (CE) courses, or clinical experiences improve their comfort and familiarity for treating ASHCN, which facilitates care and could expand the workforce and reduce the individual burden for “specialists” or specialty centers to treat ASHCN 25 . However, the lack of widespread training leads to a deficient workforce and lack of confidence among providers to treat these patients 2,25,26 . Utilizing equipment and expanding methods of providing care for ASHCN, including use of handheld radiographic units, preventative dental treatments, and additional anxiolytic, sedation, or behavior management techniques are useful to achieve successful oral health care for ASHCN 2 .…”

“…25 However, the lack of widespread training leads to a deficient workforce and lack of confidence among providers to treat these patients. 2,25,26 Utilizing equipment and expanding methods of providing care for ASHCN, including use of handheld radiographic units, preventative dental treatments, and additional anxiolytic, sedation, or behavior management techniques are useful to achieve successful oral health care for ASHCN. 2 In total, patients and providers expressed a desire for consistency and continuity of care.…”