Special Care Dentistry (Undergraduate) Education: Essential as a Starting Point, Yet Insufficient to Overcome Barriers.

Introduction: This study explored the role of special care dentistry (SCD) education in enhancing oral healthcare accessibility for people with disabilities and frail older adults.

Materials and methods: An online questionnaire about SCD was distributed among dentists and dental hygienists in Flanders (Belgium) in December 2020 and January 2021. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed to compare the responses of these two professional groups. Among dentists, adjusted binary logistic regression analyses were performed to study the relationship between prior education on SCD and the willingness to engage in future SCD initiatives. Furthermore, an open-ended question requesting suggestions about SCD was analysed using the principles of thematic analysis.

Results: In total, 51 dental hygienists and 308 dentists responded. Both groups reported treating SCD patients, mostly between a few times a year and monthly. A higher proportion of dental hygienists received prior education on SCD and exhibited openness to future SCD initiatives than dentists. Responding dentists with prior education on SCD had higher estimated odds for the willingness to receive future education. Analysing the open-ended question, dentists attributed their lower willingness to factors beyond their control and emphasised the need for an established role for dental hygienists in SCD.

Conclusion: Most dental care providers deliver SCD infrequently. More than half of the dentists reported they never received SCD education. Dentists are less willing than dental hygienists to contribute to future SCD initiatives. To encourage dentists in future service provision, SCD educational initiatives could help, but must be supported by governmental actions and regulations.