Access to Dental Care for Persons with Developmental Disabilities in Ontario

Overview

Journal J Can Dent Assoc

Specialty Dentistry

Date 2009 Mar 10

PMID 19267962

Citations 19

Authors

Anjani Koneru

Michael J Sigal

Affiliations

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Abstract

Objectives: This study was undertaken to determine the proportion of persons primarily with developmental disabilities who encounter difficulties accessing dental care in Ontario, to identify perceived barriers to accessing dental care and to determine if persons with disabilities and their caregivers believe that oral health is important.

Methods: Community organizations providing services mainly to persons with developmental disabilities in Ontario were recruited to circulate a questionnaire to their members by mail or the Internet. Fourteen organizations mailed out a total of 1,755 paper questionnaires in autumn 2006, of which 420 (23.9%) were returned; in addition, 236 Internet questionnaires were returned.

Results: Of the 656 paper and Internet responses, 634 were deemed valid. Most of the respondents had developmental disabilities. Almost three-quarters of respondents (464 [73.2%] ) reported being able to access dental services in Ontario. Personal (internal) factors were more likely to represent barriers to dental care than external factors.

Conclusions: The majority of persons with disabilities and most caregivers believed that oral health is important for overall health.

Citing Articles

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Effects of a Virtual Reality Game on Children's Anxiety During Dental Procedures (VR-TOOTH): Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Wu W, Le May S, Hung N, Fortin O, Genest C, Francoeur M JMIR Res Protoc. 2023; 12:e49956.

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Effectiveness of sensory adaptive dental environments to reduce psychophysiology responses of dental anxiety and support positive behaviours in children and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities: a systematic review and....

Reynolds K, Chimoriya R, Chandio N, Tracey D, Pradhan A, Fahey P BMC Oral Health. 2023; 23(1):769.

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Access to oral health care for children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: a cross-sectional study.

Hu K, Da Silva K BMC Oral Health. 2022; 22(1):497.

PMID: 36384583 PMC: 9670607. DOI: 10.1186/s12903-022-02561-z.