Children with special health care needs: exploring the relationships between patients' level of functioning, their oral health, and caregivers' oral health-related responses.

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to increase dentists' understanding of how to best engage parents and their children with special health care needs (SHCN) in oral health promotion efforts and explore the relationships between these patients' level of functioning and oral health and their parents' comfort concerning oral health promotion.

Methods: Survey data were collected from 154 caregivers of SHCN children. Children's oral health data were obtained from their clinical charts.

Results: The patients' level of functioning ranged from the lowest to the highest regarding their ability to listen/understand, talk, relate to others, care for themselves, play with others, and participate in physical activities. Children's gingival health was correlated with their ability to talk (r=-.12; P<.05). Their oral hygiene score correlated with their ability to talk (r=.18; P<.05) and their skills in social play interactions (r=.21; P<.05). The parents' comfort level concerning oral health promotion correlated positively with their child's level of functioning. Parents' interest in receiving oral health instruction correlated positively with their child's level of functioning.

Conclusions: Understanding patient's level of functioning might predict the degree to which parents actually engage in oral health promotion efforts and are interested in oral health-related education.