Oral Health Behaviours of Preschool Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Their Barriers to Dental Care.

Du et al. (2019) compared preschoolers with autism to same-age peers without autism. They asked parents about daily tooth-brushing habits and about problems getting dental care.

The team also tested parents' own dental knowledge. All families lived in the same city and had similar incomes.

Kids with autism brushed their teeth less often on their own. Parents reported more trips to the dentist canceled or refused.

Oddly, the autism group parents actually scored higher on dental facts. Knowing more did not translate into easier care.

Byiers et al. (2025) extends these barriers into teens. They found severe autism and rough life events each multiply dental risk four-to-six times. The 2019 preschool gap grows even bigger in adolescence.

Suhaib et al. (2019) and Parry et al. (2021) show the same pattern in different countries and settings. Pakistani autistic kids had twice the cavities. UK hospital charts show nearly half of autistic youth need repeated general anesthesia for dental work.

Sánchez-Gómez et al. (2023) offers one possible reason: autistic preschoolers already eat less calcium and vitamin D. Poor diet plus poor brushing stacks the deck against healthy teeth.

Tooth-brushing is an adaptive living skill you can teach. Break the chain now before small gaps become big cavities and traumatic dental visits. Add brushing targets to your skill-acquisition plan. Script parent advocacy for dentist offices that say 'we don't take autistic kids.'