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
. 2025 Jan;31(1):69-77.
doi: 10.1111/hae.15124. Epub 2024 Nov 27.

Assessing the factors affecting the accessibility of primary dental care for people with haemophilia

Kitti Sipos  1 , Ildikó Márton  2   3 , Marianna Móré  4 , Attila Csaba Nagy  5 , Csongor Kiss  6
Affiliations

Assessing the factors affecting the accessibility of primary dental care for people with haemophilia

Kitti Sipos et al. Haemophilia. 2025 Jan.

Abstract

Introduction: Patients with haemophilia (PWH) often have difficulty accessing dental services.

Aim: To determine the accessibility of dental care for PWH and to examine their perceptions of how coronavirus type-2 (CoV-2) disease (COVID-19) has affected their ability to access dental treatments following the pandemic.

Methods: The questionnaire survey was conducted between July 2022 and December 2022 at haemophilia treatment centres in Hungary. Variables with statistical significance (Pearson's Chi-squared test; p < .05) were included in logistic regression analyses. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression was used as a machine learning technique to identify the most predictive variables.

Results: Twenty-one percent of the sixty-eight participants reported that they had been refused dental treatment, mainly in primary care (86%). Dental refusal was influenced by infectious disease (OR: 4.48, CI: 1.14-17.69) and previous dental bleeding complications (OR: 4.23, CI: 1.10-16.27). There was correlation between dental visits and having a permanent dentist or receiving oral hygiene advice (OR: 9.95, CI: 2.86-34.62 and OR: 3.84, CI: 1.09-13.58). Participation in an oral hygiene consultation increased patients' satisfaction with their dental care (OR: 6.28, 95% CI: .71-55.88). Twenty-eight percent of patients had experienced difficulties since the start of the COVID-19, but 84% had visited their dentist at least once between 2021 and 2022 (p = .002). Nevertheless, 16% of respondents went for only the most necessary treatments due to pandemic.

Conclusion: Refusal of dental care was high among participants, especially in primary care. The COVID-19 pandemic has exaggerated the difficulties of PWH in accessing dental treatment.

Highlights: Patients with haemophilia (PWH) have difficulty accessing dental care, and the coronavirus type 2 (CoV-2) disease pandemic (COVID-19) has created a new barrier. The study revealed a high prevalence of dental care refusal (21%), particularly in primary care (86%). This 2022 survey found that 28% of patients experienced difficulties since the pandemic started and 16% only sought necessary treatments.

Keywords: COVID‐19; dental care; haemophilia A; haemophilia B; machine learning; surveys and questionnaires.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors stated that they had no interests which might be perceived as posing a conflict or bias.

References

    1. Fiorillo L, De Stefano R, Cervino G, et al. Oral and psychological alterations in haemophiliac patients. Biomedicines. 2019; 7(2): 33. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Srivastava A, Santagostino E, Dougall A, et al. WFH guidelines for the management of hemophilia. Haemophilia. 2020; 26: 1‐158. Suppl 6. - PubMed
    1. Fiske J, Pitt Ford HE, Savidge GF, Smith MP. The expressed dental needs of patients attending a Haemophilia Reference Centre. J Disabil Oral Health. 2000; 1(1): 20‐25.
    1. Kalsi H, Nanayakkara L, Pasi KJ, Bowles L, Hart DP. Access to primary dental care for patients with inherited bleeding disorders. Haemophilia. 2012; 18(4): 510‐515. - PubMed
    1. Schaffer R, Duong MT, Wachter B, Arana E, Frances D. Access to dental care for people with bleeding disorders: survey results of hemophilia treatment centers in the U.S. Spec Care Dentist. 2016; 36(6): 295‐299. - PubMed