2026-09-21T00:48:29Zhttps://digital.lib.washington.edu/server/oai/request

oai:digital.lib.washington.edu:1773/365512026-02-16T02:11:07Zcom_1773_4888col_1773_4910

Nelson, Travis Chim, Amelia 2016-07-14T16:39:32Z 2016-07-14T16:39:32Z 2016-07-14 2016-06 Chim_washington_0250O_15682.pdf http://hdl.handle.net/1773/36551 Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06 Purpose: To evaluate characteristics of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) that were associated with the ability to tolerate a dental examination following desensitization therapy. Methods: Caregivers of 168 children with ASD who attended a university-based pediatric dental clinic completed pre-visit questionnaires. Questions included demographic information, medical and dental history, behavioral characteristics, communication and self-care abilities. Children visited the clinic for an initial consultation followed by subsequent desensitization visits. The end goal was receiving an oral examination while seated in a dental chair. Bivariate associations with ability to receive a quality dental exam were tested using modified poisson regression. The statistical significance level was set to p<0.05. Results: Participants were 83% male, 4-18 years old. Eighty-eight percent allowed an oral exam when seated in a dental chair; 77.4% within 1-2 visits and 87.5% within 5 or less visits. Multiple factors predicted successful dental examination: (1) ability to be involved in group activities (RR 1.18, P=.02); (2) verbal communication (RR 1.17, P =.002); (3) understanding of most language (RR 1.14, P=.02); (4) moderate caregiver-rated ASD severity (RR 1.24, P=.04); (5) ability to dress self (RR 1.27; P=.04). Conclusion: Of those who were able to learn to accept dental care, most received dental examination within 1-2 desensitization visits and the majority did it by the 5th visit. Social, communication, and self-care abilities were strongly and positively associated with ability to receive dental examination after desensitization. application/pdf en_US Autism Autism Spectrum Disorder behavior management Predictor of success successful dental examination Dentistry Behavioral sciences dentistry Predicting Successful Dental Examination for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Thesis Open Access open.access