Unmet dental needs and barriers to dental care among children with autism spectrum disorders

Bien Lai, Michael Milano, Michael W. Roberts, Stephen R. Hooper

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

86 Scopus citations

Abstract

Mail-in pilot-tested questionnaires were sent to a stratified random sample of 1,500 families from the North Carolina Autism Registry. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the significance of unmet dental needs and other predictors. Of 568 surveys returned (Response Rate = 38%), 555 were complete and usable. Sixty-five (12%) children had unmet dental needs. Of 516 children (93%) who had been to a dentist, 11% still reported unmet needs. The main barriers were child's behavior, cost, and lack of insurance. The significant predictor variables of unmet needs were child's behavior (p = 0.01), child's dental health (p<0.001), and caregiver's last dental visit greater than 6 months (p = 0.002). Type of ASD did not have an effect on having unmet dental needs.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1294-1303
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
Volume42
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2012
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • ASD
  • Autism
  • Barriers
  • Dental
  • Unmet needs

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Developmental and Educational Psychology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Unmet dental needs and barriers to dental care among children with autism spectrum disorders'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this