Unmet dental needs and barriers to dental care among children with autism spectrum disorders

The purpose of this study is to examine the unmet dental needs and barriers to dental care among children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in North Carolina. Mail-in pilot-tested questionnaires were sent to a stratified random sample of 1500 families from the North Carolina Autism Registry. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the significance of unmet dental needs and other predictors. Of the 568 surveys returned (RR=38%), 555 were complete and used. Sixty-five (12%) children had unmet dental needs. Of 516 children (93%) who had been to a dentist, 11% still reported unmet needs. The main barriers to dental care were child's behavior, cost, and lack of insurance. The significant predictor variables of unmet needs were child's behavior (P=.01), child's dental health (P<.001), and caregiver's last dental visit greater than 6 months (P=.002). Type of ASD did not have an effect on having unmet dental needs