Abstract
Subjects
The selected participants were part of the dental desensitization program at the Center for Pediatric Dentistry at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, from January 2012 to January 2015. The sample included a total of 168 children aged 4 to 18 years diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by a physician. Participants who completed the previsit questionnaire were eligible to be included in the study. The male to female ratio was 5:1.
Key Risk/Study
Factor Dental desensitization is a psychological behavioral technique used to reduce dental fear.(1) The patient is gradually taught to replace fearful responses with adaptive responses. The clinician must introduce the procedure gradually to overcome the patient's fear.(2)
Main Outcome Measure
The main outcome measure of this study is the ability to perform a quality dental examination without extreme difficulty.
Main Results
By using dental desensitization, 77% of children with ASD were successfully examined within 1 to 2 visits and 88% by the fifth visit. Only 12.5% could not receive dental examination. Children with moderate ASD were more likely to attain a successful dental examination than children with severe ASD (relative risk [RR]: 1.24, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03-1.50). The following skills of children were associated with successful dental examination: an ability to be involved in social activity (RR: 1.18, 95% CI: 1.02-1.35), being verbal (RR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.06-1.29), the ability to understand the language (RR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.02-1.28), the ability to mimic (RR: 1.18, 95% CI: 1.10-1.26), and the ability to self-dress (RR: 1.27, 95% CI: 1.01-1.58).
Conclusions
Dental desensitization can be an effective approach to successful dental examination in children with ASD. Children with mild-to-moderate autism characteristics obtained the dental examination more successfully than those with a more severe ASD diagnosis through the use of dental desensitization techniques.