Oral health challenges facing Dubai children with Autism Spectrum Disorder at home and in accessing oral health care.

AIM

To investigate the challenges faced by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) children and their families in Dubai from three different perspectives of dental care: oral care at home, oral care at the dentist and access to oral care, and to compare the results to their normally developing peers.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A case-control comparative study of 84 ASD and 53 healthy children attending special needs centres and schools in Dubai including siblings of the autistic children. Data collection was by a survey questionnaire completed by parents or guardians.

RESULTS

More parents of ASD children compared to parents of healthy children reported difficulties across almost all oral care variables explored. The majority of ASD children's parents (83.3%) reported that their children need assistance in brushing their teeth compared with 15.4% of the healthy controls (p-value < 0.001). The ASD children's uncooperative behaviour increased during dental visits and significantly more parents (37%) rated their child's experience as negative compared with 9.5% among the parents of control children (p-value=0.006). The autistic children had visited a dentist mostly for extractions.

CONCLUSION

This study indicates that autistic children in Dubai experience more challenges and barriers to oral care than their typically developing healthy peers.