Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Jul 23:2020:9074618.
doi: 10.1155/2020/9074618. eCollection 2020.

Barriers in Access to Dental Services Hindering the Treatment of People with Disabilities: A Systematic Review

Saulo V da Rosa  1 , Samuel J Moysés  1 , Laís C Theis  2 , Renata C Soares  1 , Simone T Moysés  1 , Renata I Werneck  1 , Juliana S Rocha  1
Affiliations

Barriers in Access to Dental Services Hindering the Treatment of People with Disabilities: A Systematic Review

Saulo V da Rosa et al. Int J Dent. .

Abstract

Background: People with disabilities tend to have greater oral health problems compared to those without disabilities. This may be due to barriers they come across in accessing dental services.

Objectives: The objective of this systematic review was to provide a critical digest of the scientific literature concerning barriers and facilitators of access to oral health services for people with disabilities.

Methods: The electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS), and Brazilian Library of Dentistry (BBO) were searched using keywords relevant to the subject. The search was not restricted to specific languages or years of publication; all relevant studies were translated and reviewed.

Results: Sixteen studies including 14 articles, a doctoral thesis, and a monograph were selected, and their quality was analysed using the Downs and Black assessment tool. Barriers to dental services were divided into physical or nonphysical based on the dentist's perspective, as per the perception of parents/guardians or by the persons with disabilities. The barriers that emerged included the dentist's lack of preparation to assist people with disabilities, structural problems of access to dental offices, communication difficulties, and lack of awareness regarding the need for dental treatment for the disabled person.

Conclusion: It is concluded that people with disabilities continue to run into complex physical, behavioural, or multidimensional barriers in accessing dental services. Improved training of dentists for the care of this population is hereby emphasized. The legal framework enabling access to dental care for people with disabilities must also be respected in each country.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no financial affiliation (e.g., employment, direct payment, stock holdings, retainers, consultantships, patent licensing arrangements, or honoraria) or involvement with any commercial organization with direct financial interest in the subject or materials discussed in this manuscript or any such arrangements existed in the past five years. No potential conflicts of interest relevant to the present article were reported.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of the study selection process according to the PRISMA guidelines.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. WHO. Brasil, Relatório Mundial sobre a Deficiencia. Vol. 25. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO; 2012.
    1. Anders P. L., Davis E. L. Oral health of patients with intellectual disabilities: a systematic review. Special Care in Dentistry. 2010;30(3):110–117. doi: 10.1111/j.1754-4505.2010.00136.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bakry N., Alaki S. Risk factors associated with caries experience in children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities. Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry. 2012;36(3):319–324. doi: 10.17796/jcpd.36.3.d716250117827056. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Liu Z., Yu D., Luo W., et al. Impact of oral health behaviors on dental caries in children with intellectual disabilities in Guangzhou, China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2014;11(10):11015–11027. doi: 10.3390/ijerph111011015. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rocha L., de Lima Saintrain M. V., Vieira-Meyer A. P. G. F. Access to dental public services by disabled persons. BMC Oral Health. 2015;15(1) doi: 10.1186/s12903-015-0022-x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources