Self-Assessment of Knowledge on the Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Special Care Needs: Results of a Survey amongst German Dentists with Key Expertise in Paediatric Dentistry

Abstract

Background: The treatment of children and adolescents with disabilities (CA-Dis) and psycho-emotional disorders (CA-Psy) places special demands on dentists. Aim: To explore German dentists’ (with key expertise in paediatric dentistry) perception of their competence and comfort levels in dealing with these patients, and implications for access to care. Methods: Online questionnaire surveying demographic information and self-assessment of training, knowledge, and comfort in dealing with CA-Dis and CA-Psy among 1725 members of the German Society of Paediatric Dentistry (DGKiZ). Results: Ninety-two participants (11 male, 81 female) completed the questionnaire: 17.4% (n = 16) treated CA-Dis once or more a day; CA-Psy were rarely treated on a daily basis (7.6%; n = 7). In regard to CA-Dis, 62% (n = 57) rated their level of expertise as “good” or “very good”; for CA-Psy this was 40.2% (n = 37). Overall, 76.1% (n = 70), respectively, 88.0% (n = 81) of the respondents felt they had been inadequately prepared to treat CA-Dis or CA-Psy. Although the physical burden of treating CA-Psy was rated as “not at all stressful” or only “slightly stressful” by 45.7% of the participants, 31.5% rated the psychological distress as “very stressful” or “extremely stressful”. The better their self-assessed expertise in treating CA-Dis was, the lower their own psychological distress was rated (r = −0.34). Training on this topic seems to have an impact on the perceived burden of treating such patients. Conclusions: A core curriculum in special care dentistry needs to be embedded in the German dental curriculum. The results permit the development of health programs for workplace health management in dentistry.

Investigation of Dental and Oral Health in Children and Adolescents with Special Support Needs from a Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Perspective

“…There were two reminders spaced four weeks apart, resulting in a total of three prompts for participation. Ethics approval was not required for this survey, as the anonymized survey of adult healthcare workers does not necessitate ethics approval (see references [ 11 , 15 ]). The study was conducted online using the SoSci platform (SoSci Survey GmbH, Munich, Germany) between 30 May 2022 and 15 November 2022.…”

“…The questionnaire used in our study has been previously applied in other studies [ 11 ] and was validated according to the concept of content validation [ 19 ]. It was designed based on existing theories and generated research findings and was then reviewed by experts.…”

“…From a dental perspective, patient-related factors such as a lack of cooperation, communication barriers, insufficient general hygiene skills and the need for supportive oral care are chiefly cited for this observation. Moreover, the inadequate inclusion of disability-oriented (dental) medicine in dental education or training is also identified as a reason for the inferior dental care of people with disabilities [ 10 , 11 ]. Numerous data exist on the relationship between the education of dental professionals and their confidence in treating individuals with disabilities (e.g., [ 12 , 13 , 14 ]).…”

A five‐year cohort study on German dental students: Self‐assessment in regard to previous experience and attitude toward patients with different types of disability

“…Nevertheless, it seems that so far education in many dental schools neglects the item of dental care for patients with special needs. In a survey conducted in 2020 among members of the German Society of Paediatric Dentistry, only 6 out of 10 of the respondents rated their own professional efficacy in regard to treating children and adolescents with a disability as “good” or “very good.” 14 In two other surveys, carried out in 2010 and 2012 in two German federal states, 85% of the participating dentists indicated that their dental school curriculum had only poorly prepared them to treat persons with disability 15,16 . All these findings illuminate the need to integrate courses on special care dentistry into dental school curricula.…”

Effect of Individualized Oral Health Care Training Provided to 6–16-Year-Old Psychiatric in-Patients—Randomized Controlled Study

“…Patients with mental health disorders might be more susceptible to oral health problems than the general population due to several risk factors: a lack of motivation for self-care and oral hygiene, xerostomia caused by psychiatric medications, as well as fear and difficulty in accessing oral healthcare services [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Concomitantly, dentists experience high levels of their own psychological distress when treating children or adolescents with psycho-emotional disorders [ 4 ]. Children with mental health disorders are 85–93% more likely to experience oral health problems compared to those without mental health disorders [ 5 ].…”