Abstract
Patients with an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) generally have impaired language and communication skills, and exhibit unusual patterns of physical behavior, which can cause problems during dental treatment. Therefore, it is important for dental health care providers to acquire sufficient knowledge regarding developmentally challenged patients with an ASD. The Special Needs Dentistry Center of the Nippon Dental University Niigata Hospital has been endeavoring to develop its capacity to meet the needs of ASD patients more aptly since 2006. The purpose of this study was to examine the results of our efforts by analyzing trends of patients with developmental disabilities and treatments they received in the past 10 years. The following results were obtained.1.ASD patients represented the largest percentage of all developmentally disabled patients in the last decade and have continued to increase since 2006.2.The number of patients who live in areas 30 to 40 km from our hospital has been increasing since 2006.3.Answers regarding why patients chose our hospital revealed that referral from another facility topped the list for the past 10 years, due to the fact that the number referred to our hospital has risen sharply from 2006.4.Dental caries made up the majority of cases in the past decade, a trend that has remained unchanged since 2006.5.Behavioral training was the management technique used most frequently with ASD patients during the period under review. The ratio for this method was consistently high as compared to all other techniques in our behavior management program implemented from 2006.
