A study published in BMC Oral Health found that dentists may stigmatize children with severe tooth decay and their parents, often blaming parents for neglect and viewing these cases as difficult to treat, which can undermine the quality of care and create barriers to accessing dental services.
- Dentists perceived children with severe caries as difficult to treat and linked their dental problems to stereotypes of parental neglect
- Research involved 15 clinicians in semi-structured interviews analyzing perceptions of pediatric severe tooth decay cases
- Key themes identified: parents blamed for neglect, conflicted emotional responses from dentists, behavior change seen as obstacles, and caries prevention viewed as public health issue
- Stigma and bias undermine patient-provider relationships and contribute to barriers in accessing equitable oral healthcare
Both kids with severe tooth decay and their parents may be stigmatized by dentists, which may affect the relationship between patients and clinicians and contribute to challenges to accessing care, according to a study published on November 4 in BMC Oral Health.
Dentists appeared to perceive children with severe caries as difficult to treat, and their dental problems were linked to stereotypes of parental neglect, the authors wrote.
“In the context of ongoing efforts to improve the quality of care and ensure more equitable access to oral healthcare, further investigation into how these forms of possible discrimination translate into clinical practices is warranted, particularly through quantitative research and the application of social science frameworks,” wrote the authors, led by Guillemette Lienhart of the University of Lyon in France.
Although recommendations emphasize individualized prevention and patient-centered communication, research has shown that treatment is underdelivered in routine dental practice. Sometimes, poor parenting skills have been considered barriers to preventing tooth decay. Past studies have suggested that these perceptions may adversely affect the quality of care provided to these pediatric patients, according to the study.
To investigate dentists’ perceptions of children with serious tooth decay and how these perceptions may shape the quality of care they provide, a qualitative study was conducted based on semi-structured individual interviews with 15 clinicians. Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyze the data, according to the study.
The interviews revealed the following themes when treating children with severe caries:
- Parents were perceived as guilty of neglecting their kid’s oral health.
- Dentists had conflicted emotional perceptions of kids with severe dental caries.
- Behavior change was perceived as a significant obstacle.
- Caries prevention was perceived as a public health issue.
However, the study had several limitations, including the potential for social desirability bias. This can happen when individuals discuss sensitive topics, which can lead to self-censorship, the authors wrote.
“These perceptions may undermine the quality of the patient-provider relationship and potentially contribute to barriers to accessing care,” Lienhart and colleagues wrote.
