title: Oral care experiences and challenges in children with autism spectrum disorders.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences between children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and their typically developing peers in relation to aspects of oral care.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants included 396 parents of ASD children or typically  developing 2- to 18-year-olds. Parents completed a 37-item questionnaire designed by authors to elicit information about oral care in the home and dental office. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between diagnostic group  and oral care variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significantly more parents of ASD children than parents of typically developing children reported difficulty across almost all oral care variables explored, including oral care in the home, oral care at the dentist, and access to oral care. Following  multivariate regression to control for possible confounders-including age, gender, Hispanic status, and paternal education level-all previously significant variables remained significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study indicates that children with autism spectrum disorders experience  greater difficulties and barriers to care in both the home and dental office settings than their typically developing peers.
authors.affiliation: Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, CA, USA. lstein@usc.edu
authors.forename: Leah I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.forename: José C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Polido
authors.forename: Sandy Oliver Lopez
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Najera
authors.forename: Sharon A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Cermak
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D020817:Asperger Syndrome; D001321:Autistic Disorder; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003730:Dental Care for Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009910:Oral Hygiene / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012044:Regression Analysis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires