Zerman Nicoletta, Zotti Francesca, Chirumbolo Salvatore, Zangani Alessandro, Mauro Giovanni, Zoccante Leonardo
Department of Surgery, Dentistry, Paediatrics and Gynecology, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Front Oral Health. 2022 Sep 27;3:998831. doi: 10.3389/froh.2022.998831. eCollection 2022.
Autistic subjects represent a severe concern to dentistry due to the considerable difficulty in managing their oral health, maintaining routine toothbrushing, and preventing dental and periodontal problems. The social and economic burden of managing dental care in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) children is particularly cumbersome for families and public and private health expenditure, especially when children reach the dentist following a late diagnosis with evident oral health problems. An early diagnosis of ASD helps dentists better address these children's oral health. Unfortunately, insufficient attention is paid to the training and education of general pediatricians, dentists, and dental hygienists, allowing them to get to approach the different clinical aspects of ASD. Usually, children diagnosed with ASD are scheduled for dental appointments like their neurotypical peers, whereas their needs are typically complex and personalized. Scant attention is also devoted to these patients by commercial manufacturers of dental products and devices for oral hygiene and prevention of caries and periodontal diseases, leaving parents without the support and often failing when they address the oral health of autistic children. The difficulties of oral care do not derive simply from the behavior of ASD patients, as is commonly assumed, and therefore cannot be overcome solely by the patience and attention of parents and dentists. Genetics, dietary habits, sensory impairments, and cognition disorders are other causes contributing in various degrees to the impact on the mood and psychological reactions of autistic children towards dentists. How can we prevent teeth caries, periodontal disorders, and other oral health impairments by properly managing ASD children? This manuscript gives an up-to-date overview of these problems and helps to provide good remarks.
由于在管理自闭症患者的口腔健康、维持日常刷牙习惯以及预防牙齿和牙周问题方面存在相当大的困难，自闭症患者对牙科来说是一个严重的问题。对于自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童的家庭以及公共和私人医疗支出而言，管理其牙科护理的社会和经济负担尤其沉重，特别是当儿童在口腔健康问题明显的情况下被延迟诊断后才去看牙医时。ASD的早期诊断有助于牙医更好地解决这些儿童的口腔健康问题。不幸的是，普通儿科医生、牙医和牙科保健员在培训和教育方面没有得到足够的重视，这使得他们难以应对ASD的不同临床方面。通常，被诊断为ASD的儿童像他们发育正常的同龄人一样安排牙科预约，而他们的需求通常是复杂且个性化的。口腔卫生及预防龋齿和牙周疾病的牙科产品和器械的商业制造商对这些患者也很少关注，这使得家长在处理自闭症儿童的口腔健康问题时得不到支持，往往效果不佳。口腔护理的困难并非如通常所认为的那样仅仅源于ASD患者的行为，因此不能仅仅通过家长和牙医的耐心与关注来克服。遗传学、饮食习惯、感觉障碍和认知障碍等也是在不同程度上导致自闭症儿童对牙医产生情绪和心理反应的其他因素。我们如何通过妥善管理ASD儿童来预防龋齿、牙周疾病和其他口腔健康问题呢？本文对这些问题进行了最新概述，并有助于给出良好的建议。
