How do we make a trip to the dentist easier for an autistic child?

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-06-03 01:00

International

Photo by Benyamin Bohlouli on Unsplash

Going to the dentist can be an uncomfortable and distressing experience, and for autistic children this can be even worse due to sensory issues. A team of international researchers tested the use of an environment tailored to make autistic children more comfortable at the dentist, including dimming the lights, playing calming music, projecting slow-moving visual effects on the ceiling and using a lamp mounted to glasses to do the dental work to avoid it shining in the patient's eyes. They compared the level of stress shown by a group of autistic children who underwent dental cleaning in this environment and a similar group of children who received a cleaning in a regular environment, and say the tailored sensory environment was able to reduce physiological and behavioral distress during the cleaning.

Media release

From: JAMA

About The Study: In this randomized crossover trial of autistic children, using a sensory-adapted dental environment was safe and efficacious in decreasing physiological and behavioral distress during dental care. This is important because enhancing oral care is critical for autistic children; this intervention may also be beneficial for populations beyond autism.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of Southern California, USA

Funder: This study was supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (grant No. U01DE024978 and F31DE030006 [Dr Como]; T90DE021982 [Dr Floríndez]) and the University of Southern California Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. Dr Stein Duker was additionally supported by the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (grant No. K12 HD005929), and Dr Floríndez was supported by the University of Southern California Center for Health Equity in the Americas.

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