G Lefer1, A Rouches2, P Bourdon1,3, S Lopez Cazaux4,5,6. 1. Centre de Recherche en Education de Nantes, EA2661, Chemin de la Censive du Tertre, BP 81227, 44312, Nantes Cedex 3, France. 2. Faculté de Chirurgie Dentaire, 1 Place Alexis Ricordeau, BP, 44042, Nantes Cedex 1, France. 3. Ecole Supérieure du Professorat et de l'Education, 4 Chemin de Launay Violette, 44300, Nantes, France. 4. Centre de Recherche en Education de Nantes, EA2661, Chemin de la Censive du Tertre, BP 81227, 44312, Nantes Cedex 3, France. serena.lopez-cazaux@univ-nantes.fr. 5. Faculté de Chirurgie Dentaire, 1 Place Alexis Ricordeau, BP, 44042, Nantes Cedex 1, France. serena.lopez-cazaux@univ-nantes.fr. 6. Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire de Nantes, 1 Place Alexis-Ricordeau, 44093, Nantes Cedex 1, France. serena.lopez-cazaux@univ-nantes.fr.
Abstract
AIM: To present a training programme for teaching children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), to be compliant with a dental examination. METHODS: Fifty-two children and adolescents with ASD (age range 3-19 years) with a parent-signed consent form were enrolled. Dental examinations were performed once a month in education centres by a paediatric dentist using a visual activity schedule on an iPad® that was created with a digital application, çATED. Achievement and anxiety were evaluated using scales and grids every 2 months for 8 months. RESULTS: Showed an improvement in oral assessment; the children became compliant and less anxious. The percentage of individuals who underwent the entire dental exam process increased over time; it was 25% at the beginning of the study and 65.4% after 8 months. Only 7.7% of the sample was not anxious at the beginning, while 59.6% of the sample was not anxious after 8 months. Wilcoxon analysis also showed significant improvement in the studied variables. CONCLUSIONS: Training children and adolescents with ASD to undergo dental examination was efficient. The use of the iPad® is attractive and easy for practitioners and people with ASD.
AIM: To present a training programme for teaching children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), to be compliant with a dental examination. METHODS: Fifty-two children and adolescents with ASD (age range 3-19 years) with a parent-signed consent form were enrolled. Dental examinations were performed once a month in education centres by a paediatric dentist using a visual activity schedule on an iPad® that was created with a digital application, çATED. Achievement and anxiety were evaluated using scales and grids every 2 months for 8 months. RESULTS: Showed an improvement in oral assessment; the children became compliant and less anxious. The percentage of individuals who underwent the entire dental exam process increased over time; it was 25% at the beginning of the study and 65.4% after 8 months. Only 7.7% of the sample was not anxious at the beginning, while 59.6% of the sample was not anxious after 8 months. Wilcoxon analysis also showed significant improvement in the studied variables. CONCLUSIONS: Training children and adolescents with ASD to undergo dental examination was efficient. The use of the iPad® is attractive and easy for practitioners and people with ASD.
Entities:
Keywords:
Autism; Dental examination; Oral health; Training program; iPad®
Authors: Araxi Balian; Silvia Cirio; Claudia Salerno; Thomas Gerhard Wolf; Guglielmo Campus; Maria Grazia Cagetti Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-01-18 Impact factor: 3.390