Abstract
Objective：The purpose of this study was to grasp the actual status of dental care for persons with disabilities at oral （dental） health centers （oral health centers） and to identify and organize problems in order to establish a system in which children and adults with disabilities can receive higher quality dental care in their familiar communities at any time.
Subjects and Methods：After obtaining approval from the Japanese Association for Dental Science, we mailed an explanation of the purpose of the survey, the questions, and the URL and a two-dimensional barcode of Google forms with which to answer the questions, to 343 oral health centers.
Results：Responses were obtained from 215 centers that agreed to participate in the survey. Of these, 142 （66.0％） were facilities that accepted dental care for children and persons with disabilities （intellectual disability, physical disability, mental disorder, children with medical complexity, and intractable disease）, so these 142 facilities were included in the analysis. Most of the facilities were staffed by part-time dentists on a rotating basis, and outpatient care was the main service provided in 134 （94.4％） of the cases. Despite collaboration with other medical institutions, the referral rate was 21.1 （28.5％）, while the reverse referral rate was 8.7 （14.8％）. 105 （73.9％） and 89 （62.7％） of the respondents answered that they had “current or anticipated medical and managerial difficulties/problems,” respectively. The most common medical problem was “Insufficient personnel,” followed by “Lack of expertise to accept special cases considering the characteristics of the disabled,” and “Few dental clinics that can make a reverse referral.”
Conclusion：The results suggest that it is necessary to provide dental health counseling and home-visit dental care, secure highly specialized personnel, and establish a system for smooth cooperation among dental care institutions, to improve the provision of dental care for children and adults with disabilities in the community.
