Oral Health Care of Children and Adolescents with Different Impairments of Cerebral Palsy: Barriers and Challenges

Elizabeth Louisy Marques Soares da  Silva-Selva; Paulo Cardoso  Lins-Filho; Thuanny Silva de  Macêdo; Jaciel Leandro de Melo  Freitas; Camilla Siqueira de  Aguiar; Márcia Maria Vendiciano Barbosa  Vasconcelos; Marília de Carvalho  Lima; Arnaldo de França  Caldas Júnior

Authors

Elizabeth Louisy Marques Soares da Silva-Selva
Paulo Cardoso Lins-Filho
Thuanny Silva de Macêdo
Jaciel Leandro de Melo Freitas
Camilla Siqueira de Aguiar
Márcia Maria Vendiciano Barbosa Vasconcelos
Marília de Carvalho Lima
Arnaldo de França Caldas Júnior

Keywords:

Cerebral Palsy, Dental Care for Disabled, Epidemiology

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the barriers to access and oral health care faced by children and adolescents with Cerebral Palsy (CP) according to their motor impairment through the perception of caregivers. Material and Methods: A case series study was carried out at three health institutions in Pernambuco, Brazil. The study sample consisted of 94 caregivers of 5-to-18-year-old patients with CP, according to GMFCS (The Gross Motor Function Classification System). Data were collected using a semi-structured form to evaluate the barriers to access and analyzed statistically by the chi-square and Fisher exact tests, adopting a 5% level of significance. In addition, binary logistic regression was performed to determine the weight of the variables in explaining the outcome variable. Results: There were major difficulties involving transportation (p=0.04) and structural accessibility to dental services (p<0.01) among children and adolescents with severe CP. In addition, the more severe the CP, the greater the difficulty of accessibility (OR=4.09,) and the lower the income (OR=8.80), the greater the motor impairment. Conclusion: Despite the availability of access to dental services, low-income families have more severe CP patients, contributing to the daily difficulties already faced by them in oral health care.

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