A study of the barriers to dental care in a sample of patients with cerebral palsy.

The study examined the potential barriers to dental care for a selected sample of 57 adults suffering from cerebral palsy. The majority (60 per cent) were regular dental attenders and they received dental care in general dental practice and community dental practice in almost equal numbers. Those with mobility or communication difficulties were significantly more likely to attend the community or hospital dental services (P < 0.05). Their most common perceived barriers to dental care were fear, the need to be accompanied and negative attitudes, while cost was a rarely stated barrier. A dislike of dental treatment was significantly related to irregular attendance (P < 0.05) but neither anxiety nor the need to be accompanied were significantly related to attendance pattern.