Investigation of Dental and Oral Health in Children and Adolescents with Special Support Needs from a Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Perspective

Dustin Fornefeld; Oliver Fricke; Andreas G Schulte; Peter Schmidt

doi:10.3390/children11030355

Investigation of Dental and Oral Health in Children and Adolescents with Special Support Needs from a Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Perspective

Children (Basel). 2024 Mar 17;11(3):355. doi: 10.3390/children11030355.

Authors

Dustin Fornefeld^{1

2}, Oliver Fricke^{3

4}, Andreas G Schulte¹, Peter Schmidt¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Special Care Dentistry, Witten/Herdecke University, Alfred-Herrhausen-Str. 50, 58448 Witten, Germany.
² Department of Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy and Psychiatry, Gemeinschaftskrankenhaus Herdecke, Gerhard-Kienle-Weg 4, 58313 Herdecke, Germany.
³ Department of Human Medicine, Faculty of Health, Witten/Herdecke University, Alfred-Herrhausen-Str. 50, 58488 Witten, Germany.
⁴ Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Klinikum Stuttgart, Prießnitzweg 24, 70374 Stuttgart, Germany.

Abstract

Background: The current literature lacks scientific research on child and adolescent psychiatrists' (CAPPS) perspectives on dental and oral health. This study aims to investigate the opinions and approaches of child and adolescent psychiatrists and their patients regarding oral and dental health.

Methods: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted among members of the Professional Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy in Germany.

Results: Out of the association members, 10.9% (n = 109) participated, with 5.2% (n = 52; 38f/14m) completing the questionnaire. Dental and oral health topics were discussed with one-fifth of the patients (19.2%), while 11.5% reported that they were "never" a part of their therapy. Patient-related concerns about dental and oral health were primarily brought into the context of child and adolescent psychiatric work. Dental treatment anxieties were prominent. Only 3.8% of the participants regularly assigned diagnoses related to dental status. The CAPPS employ a bio-psycho-social model for the genesis of oral health-related conditions in Children and Adolescents with Special Needs.

Conclusions: CAPPS have a foundation in relationship-based work for assessing oral and dental healthcare and providing recommendations for further dental care. Regional networking and science must be further developed.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder; dental health services; disability evaluation; mental disorders; oral health; special care dentistry.

Grants and funding

The authors declare that the study was funded by the Department of Special Care Dentistry at Witten/Herdecke University and the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Neurology at the Gemeinschaftskrankenhaus Herdecke as part of a collaboration project between the two departments. This scientific project is financially supported by the Software-AG-Foundation based in Darmstadt/Hesse, Germany. The publication and the publication fees were funded through the internal grant program (project: IFF2023-78) of the Faculty of Health at Witten/Herdecke University. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript.