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Updated: Jan 22, 2026
Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
Opportunities to Support Oral Health Professionals Overcome the Barriers They Experience When Treating Patients With
Mathew Albert Wei Ting Lim1,2,3, Brian To1, Michelle Chow1
1Melbourne Dental School, University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, Australia.
Background:
Dental professionals experience challenges that impact on their willingness to treat patients with disabilities and additional health care needs, resulting in poorer access to dental care and unmet treatment needs.
Method:
Fifty-eight public-sector oral health professionals responded to an online survey. They responded to questions about the barriers they encountered when treating patients with disabilities and additional healthcare needs and their preferences for support.
Results:
Clinicians reported environment-related factors to have the greatest impact on treatment of patients with intellectual and physical disabilities (94.8%). Clinician-related barriers were the least reported (67.2%). Participants felt that having greater flexibility in appointments and support from more experienced clinicians would be most likely to encourage clinicians to treat these patients. Most (83.0%) were interested in developing their skills and knowledge.
Conclusions:
There is significant opportunity for additional supports for clinicians to improve access to dental care for people with special healthcare needs.
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