Table 3.

Significant Differences in Individual Items of Oral Care Attitudes of Families with Autistic Children and Children Without Autism.

Attitudes	Autistic n = 65 n (% agree)	Non-Autistic n = 60 n (% agree)	p
I trust my child’s dentist.	65 (100%)	47 (78.3%)	<0.001
My family cares about oral health as much as general health.	59 (90.8%)	40 (66.7%)	0.002
Meals I cook at home allow me to better monitor my child’s sugar intake than meals at restaurants.	64 (98.5%)	47 (78.3%)	<0.001
Getting my child to eat foods (carrots, leafy greens, etc.) that are good for promoting healthy teeth is easy.	53 (81.5%)	31 (51.7%)	<0.001
My child’s food preferences make eating non-sugary foods difficult.	61 (93.8%)	33 (55%)	<0.001
I prefer that my child’s dentist be the same race/ethnicity as me.	52 (80%)	21 (35%)	<0.001
I think my family’s race/ethnicity negatively influences how my child is treated at the dentist.	48 (73.8%)	17 (28.3%)	<0.001
There is nothing I can do to prevent cavities in my child.	50 (76.9%)	6 (10%)	<0.001
There is not much I can do to help my child have healthy teeth.	43 (66.2%)	5 (8.3%)	<0.001
Dental disease is less important than other health problems.	49 (75.4%)	18 (30%)	<0.001
It is natural for people to lose their teeth in old age.	55 (84.6%)	34 (56.7%)	<0.001
I prioritize my child’s dental health over my own dental health.	59 (90.8%)	41 (68.3%)	0.003
I am fearful of going to the dentist.	40 (61.5%)	24 (40%)	0.020

Note: Fisher’s Exact Test.