Dental management of patients with autism spectrum disorders

Abstract

Dental treatment of patients with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) can be complicated because of the presence of behavioural unpredictability. This article reviews the present literature on the issues dealt with children with autistic spectrum disorder from the dental perspective. The prevalence of autism is rising worldwide. Consequently, dentists will find an increasing number of such children in their routine practice, whose treatment will require special considerations in their dental management. Knowledge regarding the oral health status of autistic children is essential for the paediatric dentists. Negative behaviour toward dental treatment was very clear in autistic children. Self-inflicting trauma/habits were observed in autistic children. It was concluded that the autistic children do not have a higher dental caries score compared to that of normal children. Their oral hygiene was fair; however, they exhibited more debris deposits than normal children.