Parental Perception of Oral Health Status of Children in Mainstream and Special Education Classrooms

摘要

The aim of this study was to compare parental perceptions of oral health status and access to dental services by children in 34 special education and 16 mainstream public elementary school classes in San Mateo County, CA. A self-administered parental survey was utilized and included questions about demographics, oral health and dental utilization. The overall response rate was 58.8%. After adjusting for age and gender of the child, compared to mainstream, parents of special education students were significantly more likely to report their child to have: worse oral health (OR= 2.4, 95% CI 1.54, 3.67) lacking a past year dental visit (OR= 1.96, 95% CI 1.01, 3.84), and missed school days due to dental reasons (OR = 2.5, 95% CI 1.55, 4.17). Both groups rated the child’s oral health inferior to overall health rating (p<0.001). The authors concluded that disparities exist between the two groups in parental perceptions of their children’s oral health status and dental service utilization.