NCT03003221

Improving Dental Care and Oral Health in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 119 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of California, Irvine · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 3 Years – 13 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

A randomized controlled trial (at sites) comparing the efficacy of the established AIR-P Dental Toolkit (control condition) to a combined regimen involving the Dental Toolkit and parent-mediated behavioral intervention (intervention condition) to improve home dental care, oral health outcomes, and dental office visit experiences.

Detailed description

Participation in routine dental care is a significant challenge for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) due to a variety of factors, including considerations related to ASD symptoms and associated anxiety and behavioral difficulties. Lack of routine, effective dental care has contributed to a substantial unmet healthcare need for children with ASD, who are at increased risk for excessive plaque, caries, and oral infections. The purpose of this study is to test a parent-training intervention designed to improve home dental hygiene, compliance with dental office visits, and oral health outcomes in children with autism spectrum disorder. Families of children with an existing diagnosis of ASD will be recruited for participation. All families will receive the Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P) Dental Toolkit, which is designed to provide parents with guidance and information about dental care and support strategies for children with ASD. Some families will also participate in a 10-week behavioral parent-training intervention focused on improving home dental care and dental office visit experiences.

Conditions

• Autism Spectrum Disorder

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	AIR-P Dental Toolkit	The AIR-P Dental Toolkit is designed to provide caregivers with guidance and information related to dental care and support strategies for children with autism spectrum disorder.
BEHAVIORAL	Parent Training	The parent-training intervention integrates strategies shown to be efficacious for: 1) improving adherence to dental care, 2) enhancing dental experiences for children with neurotypical development and high levels of dental fear, and 3) evidence-based behavioral techniques established for children with autism spectrum disorder.

Timeline

• Start date: 2016-12-01
• Primary completion: 2019-06-01
• Completion: 2019-06-01
• First posted: 2016-12-26
• Last updated: 2021-04-14

Locations

2 sites across 1 country: United States