Unmet dental needs and barriers to care for children with significant special health care needs.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to conduct the first known large scale survey of parents of children with special health care needs (CSHCN) to determine their child's: oral health status; access to dental care; perceived barriers (environmental/system and nonenvironmental/family); and oral health quality of life, accounting for each child's medical diagnosis and severity of diagnosis.

Methods: A 72-item survey was sent to 3760 families of CSHCN throughout urban and rural Massachusetts.

Results: The study yielded 1,128 completed surveys.