To assess the oral health behaviors of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and explore attitudes
and barriers in providing oral care by their parents. A cross-sectional, mixed method study design, which
comprised of quantitative and qualitative sections was conducted. The quantitative part assessed the oral
health behavior through a parent-proxy report questionnaire whilst the qualitative part assessed parents’
overall perspective on maintenance of oral health in children with ASD through an in-depth interview using
semi-structured questions. All children below the age of 16 who have been clinically diagnosed with ASD and
registered at the Pediatric Dental Clinic were included. The sample consisted of twenty children with ASD.
Most of the sample were male and between 5-8 years old. Majority had good oral health behaviors but some
exhibited self-injurious behaviors that may affect oral health. Severe characteristics of ASD, co-morbid
conditions and incompetent health professionals were reported as barriers in oral care by parents of these
children. Despite having good oral health behaviors, several barriers and challenges were expressed by these
parents with ASD when providing home oral care or bringing them for dental appointment. Continuous
support for parents with ASD child by dental professionals is essential to help overcome the real challenges
and barriers in providing oral care among these parents.
Introduction: The objective of this study was to assess parental acceptance and factors that influenced their per- ceptions towards the use of dental therapists in providing treatment to children in private dental practice settings. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on randomly selected parents of 11-year-old schoolchildren in Se- langor using a self-administered structured questionnaire. The survey consisted of three sections: socio-demographic characteristics, dental service utilisation and parental acceptance towards dental therapists in providing seven types of preventive and operative dental procedures. Results: The response rate was 83.1%. Overall, most parents regarded dental therapists providing dental care to their children in private dental care settings as acceptable, particularly on preventive treatment, namely ‘seeking advice on oral hygiene care' (87.8%) and ‘applying topical fluoride' (83.2%). In the multivariate analysis, younger parents and those who had preferences over private sectors were most likely to accept at least four dental procedures to be rendered to their children by dental therapists. Overall, respondents who were younger (OR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.62, 1.92), lived in urban locality (OR = 1.77, 95% CI = 1.28, 2.45) and had a recent dental visit (OR = 1.51; 95% CI = 1.10, 2.07) were more likely to have an overall positive perceptions towards dental therapists. Conclusion: Most parents regarded dental therapists providing care to their children in private dental settings as acceptable and this was associated with their age, place of residence and past dental experiences.