Aims: This paper aims to systematically review the current evidence surrounding the influence of parental knowledge and attitudes on the oral and dental health status of autistic children.
Methods and results: Data were sourced from EBSCOhost, ProQuest One Academic, Ovid MEDLINE, and Scopus. Additional records were manually identified through other sources. Literature search identified 610 relevant articles for screening, of which nine were ultimately selected for inclusion following full-text review. A custom data collection sheet was constructed by the authors to extract data based on selected parameters addressing the focused research question. Extracted data were combined in an evidence table based on the collection sheet parameters. Study characteristics and findings were then descriptively summarized and compared. Due to heterogenicity, meta-analysis was not viable. While all included cross-sectional studies have predominantly shown no statistically significant association between parental knowledge and oral health, three experimental studies have conversely reported significant oral health improvements following educational interventions; suggesting a strong correlation.
Conclusion: Autistic children are susceptible to oral diseases, necessitating parental attention. Current evidence regarding this topic is limited and conflicting. The present systematic review faces limitations: included studies were few and predominantly cross-sectional. Moreover, study samples were small, predominantly male, conveniently recruited, and geographically limited. This paper serves as a foundation to guide future research and inspire oral health education and wellness promotion programs.
Keywords: attitude; autism spectrum disorder; dental health; health education; knowledge; oral health; parents.
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