Assistant Professor East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine
Participants should be aware of the following financial/non-financial relationships: . Vanessa Pardi, DDS, MS, PhD: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.. Huabin Luo, Ph.D: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.. Mark E. Moss, DDS, PhD: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.
Abstract: Objectives: Compare preventive dental visits, cavities, and teeth conditions in children with and without special health care needs.
Methods: Data from the 2020 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) were analyzed for 2-17 years old (N=39,738). Outcome variables were dental visits, teeth conditions and cavities in the past year (reported by parents/guardians) CYSHCN was reported by parents or guardians. Covariates included were age, sex, race, family income, parents/guardian’s highest education level, insurance type, nativity. Bivariate analysis and multiple logistic regression were performed using Stata 16 and accounted for the survey design of NSCH.
Results: The prevalence of preventive dental visits for CYSHCN was 95.5% (95% CI: 94.3-96.4) vs 96.0% (95% CI: 95.4-96.6) (p=0.37). The prevalence of dental cavities was 16.7% (95%CI: 15.0-18.6%) in CYSHCN vs. 11.5% (95% CI: 10.6-12.5%) in other children (p<0.001). The poor teeth condition was 11.6% (95% 10.0-13.4) for CYSHCN vs. 4.9% (95% CI:4.3-5.7) (p<0.001). Multiple logistic regression model results do not show difference (AOR=0.94, p=0.55) in preventive dental visits between CYSHCN and other children; CYSHCN were more likely to have cavities (AOR=1.41, 96% CI; 1.18-1.69), and more likely to have poor teeth condition (AOR=2.41, 96% CI; 1.89-3.07) than children without special care needs.
Conclusion: The 2020 NSCH data showed that children with special needs reported poorer oral health status (cavities and teeth condition) than their counterparts, but they did not have more preventive dental visits. Additional efforts to reduce the barriers to dental care for this special group are needed to improve their oral health status.
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