Parents/caregivers' perceptions of the influence of oral health on the quality of life of paediatric patients with autism spectrum disorder.

Abstract

Aim: The Parental-Caregivers Perceptions Questionnaire (P-CPQ) is designed to measure how parents or caregivers perceive the influence of children's oral health on their quality of life. P-CPQ can be extremely useful in measuring oral health-related quality of life for patients who are unable to provide firsthand information about their oral health, such as many autistic patients who may have impaired communication abilities or different degrees of intellectual development.

Methods: Italian version of the Parental/Caregiver - Child Perception Questionnaire (P-CPQ) was used to evaluate the oral health-related quality of life of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as perceived by their parents or caregivers. The questionnaire comprises 31 items categorised into four domains: oral symptoms (OS), functional limitations (FL), emotional well-being (EWB), and social well-being (SWB) of the child. Participants included parents or caregivers of neurotypical and autistic children aged 6 to 14 years, recruited from the Padua University Dental Clinic. Data collected from the questionnaires were analysed, and scores from autistic and neurotypical children were compared.

Conclusion: Parents of children and adolescents with ASD have a worse perception of the OHRQoL of their children than parents of unaffected children. In some cases, the relevance of oral conditions may be overlooked because parents of children with ASD have a huge workload related to the child's general health problems. Dentists should be part of the multidisciplinary team of professionals who are concerned with the health of individuals with ASD to provide appropriate preventive and rehabilitative oral care.