How do Australians living with MS experience oral health and accessing dental care? A focus group study

The symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) can affect oral care and access to dental services, but there is limited literature describing the oral health and perceived oral healthcare needs of people with MS. This study aimed to explore the oral health experiences, oral health behaviours and barriers to accessing dental care perceived by people living with MS in Australia.

Six focus groups were held across two metropolitan areas (Brisbane, Queensland and Melbourne, Victoria) and one regional area (Toowoomba, Queensland). Focus group data were analysed using thematic analysis.

Living with MS was a highly individual experience due to the range of symptoms that may be experienced. In addition to having different symptom experiences to others with MS, individual symptoms also differed on a daily basis as the disease relapsed and remitted. The physical expressions of MS directly and indirectly affected the oral health of participants. Additionally, oral health was affected by the side effects of medications and orofacial pain symptoms. Depending on the symptoms experienced by the individual, personal oral hygiene was affected and professional dental appointments were difficult. Participants also experienced structural barriers to accessing professional dental care including difficulty accessing transport to-and-from dental appointments, space limitations in the dental surgery and financial barriers to care.

Dental care was perceived to be inflexible and was not tailored to individual experiences of MS, which contributed to perceptions of poor quality and appropriateness of care. It is important for dental professionals to offer tailored and individualized dental care when treating people with MS. Our findings suggest that there needs to be greater interprofessional communication and referral to manage atypical dental pain symptoms. Oral health education for people with MS should include altered strategies to performing daily oral hygiene, the management of xerostomia and advice regarding low cariogenic diets suitable for dysphagia. Additionally, policy and strategies to improve the oral health of people with MS should focus on enhancing access through transport, reducing the cost of dental services to the individual and providing domiciliary oral health care.