Assessment of access to dental care for young people with Cystic Fibrosis in Greater Manchester

Abstract

Abstract:

Introduction: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a multi-system life-limiting condition inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. Children with CF are considered a high-priority group for dental care as adverse oral health may have detrimental consequences on their nutritional status and ideally operative intervention should be avoided. Aims: This project aimed to establish whether there is an unmet dental care need for children with CF in the Greater Manchester area. A secondary aim was to assess whether the COVID-19 pandemic impacted upon dental service access for children with CF in Greater Manchester. Methods: This is a prospective questionnaire-based service evaluation of children and adolescents with CF and their parents/carers who attend the Paediatric CF service in the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital (RMCH) on dental care. Results: 28 participants completed the questionnaire. As expected the majority of respondents (82%) indicated that the CF team were not involved in recommending dental care to their child. However, 85.7% of patients were registered with a dentist. 16/27 of parents/carer rated their child’s oral health as excellent (n=6) or very good (n=10). 57.1% of respondents stated they did not know if their child had decay, 32.1% indicated they did know and 3 parents/carers stating they did not know. 61% of respondents indicated that they believed their child’s oral health to be related to their general health. 60.7% indicated a barrier to dental care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: Access to dental care was higher than that reported in the literature for children in the UK but was not universal. This suggests that there is an unmet need for young people with CF in accessing dental care, services, and advice. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic had an undoubted impact on patient access to dental care and services.