Oral Health Needs and Barriers to Care in Children with Learning Difficulties
https://doi.org/10.47836/mjmhs.19.3.36
- Author:
Lily Azura Shoaib
1
;
Maryani Mohamed Rohani
1
;
Jacob John
2
;
Ros Anita Omar
2
;
Nurul Izyan Zainuddin
3
;
Sylvia Lim Sze Fen
4
;
Tee Yee Ting
5
Author Information
1. Department of Paediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2. Department of Restorative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
3. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Clinical Sciences. Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
4. Permas Dental Surgery Bandar Baru Permas Jaya, 81750 Masai, Johor, Malaysia
5. ST Tiew Dental Group, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Unmet dental needs, Learning disabilities, Dental care
- From:Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences
2023;19(No.3):278-287
- CountryMalaysia
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Introduction: Children with learning difficulties (LD) have poorer oral health compared to those without LD due to
barriers in maintaining oral care. However, the scarcity of data for this population in Malaysia has left a huge gap in
understanding their problems and how to overcome those barriers. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate
the unmet dental needs and barriers to care perceived by the guardians of children with learning difficulties (CWLD)
attending the Special Education Integrated Programmes of a mainstream primary school, in comparison to children
without learning difficulties. Methods: This cross-sectional study surveyed the guardians of CWLD (case) and those
without LD (control), aged 6-12 years old. A total of 225 questionnaires were distributed to the guardians with a
response rate of 40.4% (N=91). Unmet dental needs and barriers in both groups were analysed using the chi-square
test. Barriers with significant Chi-square results were further tested with logistic regression to investigate possible
confounders. Results: Unmet dental needs of 23.1% of CWLD were found. Most of the guardians agreed that regular dental check-ups were the most needed dental treatment (27.1%) compared to other treatments. The child’s
behaviour and the unwillingness of the dentists to treat were among the significant barriers to dental care within
the CWLD group. Conclusion: Despite regular dental visits, guardians of CWLD perceived that their children had
the most unmet dental needs compared to other children without LD, with significant barriers in terms of accessing
professional dental services.
- Full text:11.2023my1536.pdf
