Materials and Methods: The main health databases were selected such as SCOPUS, Medline, CINAHL, and Dentistry and Oral Sciences. A set of keywords was defined to identify the relevant article were (i.e., Snoezelen OR Multisensory OR sensory-adapted and Dentistry OR Oral). The articles were selected and extracted by two reviewers based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis guidelines and some predetermined exclusion criteria. Furthermore, the risk of bias assessment was done.
Results: A total of 317 papers were selected at the first phase from SCOPUS (97 papers), Medline (108 papers), CINAHL (110 papers), and Dentistry and Oral Sciences (2 papers). After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria and duplicated papers were removed, only four eligible papers were selected for final synthesis.
Conclusions: Multisensory-adapted dental environment effectively improves oral health behavior among special needs children in terms of physiological changes, behaviors, pain, and sensory discomfort. Thus, the clinician may introduce this approach in their clinical settings.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The panoramic radiographic images belonging to children with special needs from the two teaching dental hospitals in Malaysia aged between 5 and 16 years were included in the study. The evaluation was performed by two observers using three methods (London Atlas, Demirjian, and Willems methods) to estimate the accurate DA. The outcome was determined by comparing the mean of the DA and CA.
RESULTS: A total of 52 panoramic radiographs were available for the analysis. The London Atlas and Demirjian methods overestimated the DA with a mean of 0.05 and 0.20 years, respectively, while the Willems method underestimated by 0.19 years. The London Atlas method was highly precise and accurate, while Demirjian and Willems methods were the least precise and accurate.
CONCLUSION: The London Atlas method of DA estimation is highly accurate and valid for children with special needs in the Malaysian population, followed by the Willems and Demirjian methods.