title: Dental service utilization of disabled children.
abstract: This study examines factors influencing the use of dental services by disabled children. A total of 322 disabled children, aged 6 to 18 years, attending nine special schools were randomly selected for a clinical examination. Their parents or guardians were interviewed to determine the child's pattern of dental service use, parental perception of the child's dental needs, and special problems encountered with seeking care. It was found that 68.3% of the children had never visited a dentist within the previous year. The most common reason given for no care was an assumption that "nothing was wrong." The results indicated a low rate of dental service use among the disabled children. A lack of parental dental awareness appeared to be a major contributory factor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, National University of Singapore.
authors.forename: G L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Lo
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Soh
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vignehsa
authors.forename: N K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Chellappah
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003730:Dental Care for Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D012846:Singapore; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires