Ni Zhou1,2, Hai Ming Wong1, Colman McGrath3. 1. Paediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Philip Dental Hospital, 2/F Prince, 34 Hospital Road, Hong Kong SAR, China. 2. Paediatric & Preventive Dentistry, The Affiliated Stomatology Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, China. 3. Periodontology and Public Health, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, 2/F Prince Philip Dental Hospital, 34 Hospital Road, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Children with special education needs (SEN) require additional supports in education settings, as well as extra supports in healthcare services. AIM: To investigate dental visit experience and dental-care barriers among Hong Kong pre-schoolers with SEN. DESIGN: This was designed as a cross-sectional study. A structured questionnaire was employed to investigate dental attendance and dental-care barriers among Hong Kong pre-schoolers with SEN. Binary logistic regression and multi-factor ANOVA were performed to identify factors which might be associated with children's dental visit experience. RESULTS: A total of 383 children had been included for final analysis. The average age of the recruited children was 3.87 ± 0.95. 72.5% parents reported that dental visit was a challenging task for their children. Among children with caries, 70.7% had never visited a dentist. Regression models indicated that i) Children over 3 years or children whose parents received tertiary education were more likely to visit a dentist; ii) The existence of dental-care barriers was associated with children's primary diagnosis, practical skills, conceptual skills, and parents' education attainment ; iii) Children with low conceptual skills (95%CI0.71to2.40, p<0.001), or children from low-income families (95%CI-1.21to-0.06, p=0.031) had more dental-care barriers than their counterparts. CONCLUSION: Unmet dental-treatment needs and dental-care barriers existed among pre-schoolers with SEN. Dental-care barriers were associated with children's developmental profile, parents' education attainment, and household income. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
BACKGROUND:Children with special education needs (SEN) require additional supports in education settings, as well as extra supports in healthcare services. AIM: To investigate dental visit experience and dental-care barriers among Hong Kong pre-schoolers with SEN. DESIGN: This was designed as a cross-sectional study. A structured questionnaire was employed to investigate dental attendance and dental-care barriers among Hong Kong pre-schoolers with SEN. Binary logistic regression and multi-factor ANOVA were performed to identify factors which might be associated with children's dental visit experience. RESULTS: A total of 383 children had been included for final analysis. The average age of the recruited children was 3.87 ± 0.95. 72.5% parents reported that dental visit was a challenging task for their children. Among children with caries, 70.7% had never visited a dentist. Regression models indicated that i) Children over 3 years or children whose parents received tertiary education were more likely to visit a dentist; ii) The existence of dental-care barriers was associated with children's primary diagnosis, practical skills, conceptual skills, and parents' education attainment ; iii) Children with low conceptual skills (95%CI0.71to2.40, p<0.001), or children from low-income families (95%CI-1.21to-0.06, p=0.031) had more dental-care barriers than their counterparts. CONCLUSION: Unmet dental-treatment needs and dental-care barriers existed among pre-schoolers with SEN. Dental-care barriers were associated with children's developmental profile, parents' education attainment, and household income. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Entities:
Keywords:
barriers; dental visit; paediatric; preschool children; special needs
Authors: Jieyi Chen; Ni Zhou; Biao Xu; Yuexiao Li; Shinan Zhang; Chunhung Chu Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-05-16 Impact factor: 3.390