Table 3.
Parents of Children with Down syndrome Responses to Oral Care Questions about the Home and Dental Office by Sensory Group.
| Sensory Not Over- Responders (SNORs) M (SD) | Sensory Over-Responders (SORs) M (SD) | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||
| DENTAL CARE IN THE HOME | |||
|
| |||
| Assistance required to complete toothbrushing in the home | (n=222) | (n=139) | <.0001 |
| Full assistance | 61 (27.5) | 57 (41.0) | |
| Some physical assistance | 118 (53.2) | 64 (46.0) | |
| Verbal reminders | 41 (18.5) | 9 (6.5) | |
| Child is independent in brushing | 2 (0.90) | 9 (6.5) | |
| Difficulty with child’s toothbrushing on a daily basis | (n=222) | (n=140) | .31 |
| No | 88 (39.6) | 48 (34.3) | |
| Yes | 134 (60.4) | 92 (65.7) | |
|
| |||
| DENTAL CARE IN THE DENTAL OFFICE | |||
|
| |||
| Child’s experience at last dental cleaning | (n=222) | (n=138) | .10 |
| Negative experience | 20 (9.0) | 12 (8.7) | |
| Neutral experience | 111 (50.0) | 54 (39.1) | |
| Positive experience | 91 (41.0) | 72 (52.2) | |
| Child receives high quality of care from the dentist | (n=221) | (n=139) | .25 |
| Disagree/strongly disagree | 19 (8.6) | 11 (7.9) | |
| Neutral | 73 (33.0) | 35 (25.2) | |
| Agree/strongly agree | 129 (58.4) | 93 (66.9) | |
| Based on child’s reactions/behaviors at the dentist, difficulty level for dentist or hygienist to clean child’s teeth | (n=221) | (n=139) | .37 |
| Not at all difficult* | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Mildly difficult | 34 (15.4) | 20 (14.4) | |
| Moderately difficult | 132 (59.7) | 75 (54.0) | |
| Extremely difficult | 55 (24.9) | 44 (31.7) | |
| If child had to go to the dentist tomorrow to have his/her teeth cleaned, how would he/she feel about it | (n=222) | (n=138) | .03 |
| Look forward to it as a reasonably enjoyable experience | 15 (6.8) | 22 (15.9) | |
| Wouldn’t care | 56 (25.2) | 28 (20.3) | |
| Would be a little uneasy | 113 (50.9) | 61 (44.2) | |
| Would be afraid* | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Would be extremely afraid | 38 (17.1) | 27 (19.6) | |
| My child’s uncooperative behaviors make dental appointments challenging | (n=220) | (n=137) | .04 |
| Strongly disagree* | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Somewhat agree | 50 (22.7) | 19 (13.9) | |
| Moderately-strongly agree | 170 (77.3) | 118 (86.1) | |
| My child’s sensory sensitivities make dental appointments challenging | (n=220) | (n=137) | <.001 |
| Strongly disagree* | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Somewhat-moderately agree | 181 (82.3) | 91 (66.4) | |
| Strongly agree | 39 (17.7) | 46 (33.6) | |
| At the dentist’s office, is your child afraid of, dislikes, or complains about: | (n=225) | (n=142) | |
| Loud sounds (yes) | 123 (54.7) | 58 (40.8) | .01 |
| Bright lights (yes) | 82 (36.4) | 68 (47.9) | .03 |
| Smells (yes) | 41 (18.2) | 36 (25.4) | .10 |
| Taste of toothpaste (yes) | 23 (10.2) | 20 (14.1) | .26 |
| Reclining in dental chair (yes) | 67 (29.8) | 49 (34.5) | .34 |
| Instruments placed in mouth (yes) | 125 (55.6) | 79 (55.6) | .99 |
| Child’s anxiety or response to dental treatment discourages you from regular check-ups | (n=222) | (n=138) | <.001 |
| No | 50 (22.5) | 54 (39.1) | |
| Yes | 172 (77.5) | 84 (60.9) | |
Note. Sample sizes vary due to missing data. Sensory over-responders (SORs) were children whose parents reported moderate to extreme over-responsivity on three or more (of eight total) sensory modalities; sensory not over-responders (SNORs) were parents who reported moderate to extreme over-responsivity on two or fewer sensory modalities.
*
Not included in Chi-square analyses since both sensory groups reported zero values.