Occupational and speech therapists' perceptions of their role in dental care for children with autism spectrum disorder: A qualitative exploration

Background Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have challenges in home oral care, accessing a dentist and accepting dental treatment. Occupational therapists (OTs) and speech therapists (STs) are likely to be involved earlier in managing communication, behavioural and sensory processing issues. Aim To determine perceived issues, barriers and potential solutions to dental care for children with ASD in Singapore from the perspective of OTs and STs. Design Semi-structured interviews and a focus group discussion involving OTs and STs who treat children with ASD were conducted. Audio recordings were transcribed and coded into themes using the NVivo 12 software. Results Emergent themes indicated that: (i) OTs and STs have important roles in recognition of issues with toothbrushing, oral pathology and harmful oral habits; (ii) OTs and STs were able to identify reasons for difficulties in oral home care for children with ASD and offer helpful strategies; and (iii) OTs and STs can play a role in pre-dental visit preparations but lack a clear dental referral pathway. Conclusions OTs and STs exclusively assist in the early identification and referrals of children with ASD to the dentist. Interprofessional collaboration with dentists should be further explored to aid in the provision of preventive dental advice.