Esparza Loredo Susana Beatriz, García De la Torre Guadalupe Silvia, Villanueva Vilchis María Del Carmen, Aranda Romo Saray, Aguilar Díaz Fátima Del Carmen
Department of Oral Public Health, National School of Higher Studies (ENES)-Leon, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Leon 37684, Guanajuato, Mexico.
Dental Science, Master's and Doctoral Program in Medical, Dental and Health Sciences, National Autonomous University of México, Coyoacan, Mexico City 04510, Mexico.
Healthcare (Basel). 2025 Jun 30;13(13):1563. doi: 10.3390/healthcare13131563.
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often exhibit similar food-related behaviors, such as excessive sugar consumption, and sensory processing difficulties, which can hinder oral hygiene routines like toothbrushing and increase the risk of cavities or gum problems. Therefore, caregiver involvement in maintaining oral health is crucial. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices reported by caregivers in terms of oral care provided to children diagnosed with ASD between the ages of 5 and 12 years. A cross-sectional study was conducted, and the participants comprised 72 caregivers of children with ASD enrolled in four therapeutic centers in SLP, Mexico. Data on caregivers' knowledge, attitudes, and care in terms of oral health, as well as sociodemographic characteristics, were collected through a structured and self-administered questionnaire. Among the caregivers, 85% were women, and 86% recognized sugar as a cariogenic and gingival bleeding as a sign of inflammation. Despite this, over 60% reported frequent sugar consumption, 65.4% supervised toothbrushing, and floss use was minimal. More than half showed high self-efficacy, which correlated with more frequent supervised or autonomous toothbrushing. Caregivers involved in homecare brushed their children's teeth more often. Correct knowledge of brushing frequency was associated with actual toothbrushing practices ( < 0.05). This study highlights a notable gap between caregivers' knowledge and oral care practices in terms of children with ASD.
患有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的儿童通常表现出类似的与食物相关的行为，比如过度摄入糖分，以及感觉加工困难，这可能会妨碍刷牙等口腔卫生习惯，并增加患龋齿或牙龈问题的风险。因此，照顾者参与维持口腔健康至关重要。本研究的目的是评估照顾者在为5至12岁被诊断为ASD的儿童提供口腔护理方面所报告的知识、态度和做法。开展了一项横断面研究，参与者包括在墨西哥韦拉克鲁斯州四个治疗中心登记的72名ASD儿童的照顾者。通过一份结构化的自填问卷收集了照顾者在口腔健康方面的知识、态度和护理数据，以及社会人口学特征。在照顾者中，85%为女性，86%认识到糖具有致龋性，牙龈出血是炎症的迹象。尽管如此，超过60%的人报告孩子经常摄入糖分，65.4%的人监督孩子刷牙，使用牙线的情况极少。超过一半的人表现出较高的自我效能感，这与更频繁地监督或自主刷牙相关。参与家庭护理的照顾者更经常为孩子刷牙。对刷牙频率的正确认知与实际刷牙行为相关（<0.05）。本研究凸显了照顾者在ASD儿童口腔护理知识和做法方面存在显著差距。
