Association Between Feeding Problems and Oral Health Status in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Picky eating in autism predicts crooked teeth and sore gums, so pair feeding plans with dental care.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Leiva-García et al. (2019) compared the teeth and gums of kids with autism to kids without autism.
They looked at how often each child said no to foods and how many different foods the child ate.
A dentist checked every child for crooked bites, red gums, and plaque without knowing who had autism.
What they found
Kids with autism who refused many foods had more crooked teeth and bleeding gums.
The pickier the eater, the worse the oral health score.
Typical kids had fewer dental problems even when they were just as picky.
How this fits with other research
Moorthy et al. (2022) saw the same thing: kids with autism had more plaque and gum disease even when sugar intake matched typical peers.
Vassos et al. (2023) then showed parents can fix this: a short social-story program cut plaque and improved gum health in preschoolers with autism.
Evans et al. (2012) and Bigby et al. (2009) found kids with autism drink more sweet drinks and eat fewer fruits and veggies, but Beatriz links the pickiness itself—not sugar—to bad teeth.
Why it matters
If a client with autism avoids foods, add a quick oral health check to your feeding assessment.
Refer early to a pediatric dentist and teach parents the M et al. social-story routine.
Better teeth make eating less painful, which can speed up your feeding intervention.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Ask parents to show you their child’s last dentist report before the next feeding session.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
A number of studies have been made of mealtime behavioral problems and food selectivity in patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), though not from a multidisciplinary perspective where diet and dental care are investigated in children with ASD. In the present study, the parents of 55 children with ASD and 91 children with typical development (TD) between 6 and 18 years of age completed the Brief Assessment of Mealtime Behavior in Children (BAMBIC) and a food consumption frequency questionnaire. A pediatric dentist performed an oral exploration of the participants according to the criteria of the World Health Organization (WHO). Food rejection and limited food variety were associated to an increased prevalence of malocclusion and altered Community Periodontal Index scores in children with ASD.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2019 · doi:10.1007/s10803-019-04211-w