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Children's Ages, Reasons, and Experiences for First Dental Visit and Barriers of a Late Visit: A Cross-Sectional
Shahad S Alkhuwaiter1, Manahil Almutairi2, Norah Alfuraih2
1Department of Orthodontic and Pediatric Dentistry, College of Dentistry, Qassim University, Qassim, SAU.
Objective:
This study aimed to determine the age and reason of pediatric patients at the first visit and the barriers to a late visit.
Methodology:
A study was conducted among guardians of children attending the Outpatient Pediatric Dentistry Department. Children who visit the dentist for the first time were included in the study. A self-administered questionnaire was used and the behavior of children was evaluated by using Frankl's scale. Descriptive statistics was used to explore the general data.
Results:
A total of 211 children had their first dental visit. The majority (n = 112, 53.1%) visited the dentist for the first time at the age of three to six years. Reasons for the first dental visit for most children were dental caries (n = 118, 32.8%) followed by dental pain (n = 114, 31.7%). More than half of the parents (n = 160, 75.8%) reported that the overall experience of the first visit was very good. The highest reported barriers to a late dental visit were that the child's not complaining of dental problems (n = 60, 20.5%) and dental fear and anxiety (n = 58, 19.8%).
Conclusions:
Most of the children in this study visited the dentist for the first time beyond the internationally recommended age and the reason behind this visit is to relieve a specific chief complaint. Moreover, the barriers contributing to the postponement of a child's first dental visit vary in this study. The child not complaining of any dental problems and dental fear and anxiety were the highest reported barriers.
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