title: Parental perceptions of dental visits and access to dental care among disabled schoolchildren in Kuwait.
abstract: The objective of this study was to describe dental visiting habits and access to dental care among the disabled schoolchildren in Kuwait. A total of 308 parents of children with a physical disability (n = 211), Down syndrome (n = 97) and teachers, who had normal children (n = 112) participated in the study. Less than one-fourth (21%) of the disabled children and 37% of the normal children had never visited a dentist (p = 0.003). Majority of Down syndrome (72%) and physically disabled children (59%) received curative dental care compared to 47% of normal children (p = 0.016). A bigger proportion of disabled children (42%) visited the dentist due to tooth ache than the normal ones (25%) (p < 0.01). Only 9.6% of Down syndrome children perceived no barriers to seek the dental care compared to 26.2% of physically disabled and 32.2% of normal children (p = 0.008). Difficulty to get an appointment was the most common perceived barrier to dental care by parents of Down syndrome children and the normal children (37.3%). Parents of disabled children considered difficulty in cooperation as a more important barrier to treatment (34.7%) than the parents of normal children (20.3%). Larger proportion of parents of normal children (82%) rated the present dental services as excellent/good compared to 52% of the parents of disabled children (p < 0.001). Toothache and curative treatment need were the main reasons for dental visits among disabled children. Regular dental check-ups and preventive oral health care should be encouraged for comprehensive coverage of the national school oral health program for the disabled in Kuwait.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shyama
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Al-Mutawa
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Honkala
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Honkala
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000766:Anesthesia, Dental / Q000145:classification; D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000523:psychology*; D003730:Dental Care for Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D003740:Dental Clinics / Q000145:classification; D019988:Children with Disabilities; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000523:psychology; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D007730:Kuwait; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D014098:Toothache / Q000628:therapy