Physiological and Behavioral Stress and Anxiety in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders during Routine Oral Care

Background. Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) commonly exhibit uncooperative behaviors which impede oral care. Previous studies have utilized dentist-report measures of uncooperative behaviors in children with ASD but none have utilized an objective measure of children’s behavior or a physiological measure of distress. This study investigated behavioral and physiological distress in children with ASD during routine oral care and examined factors associated with this distress. Methods. Participants were 44 children (n=22 typical, n=22 ASD) aged 6–12 receiving routine dental cleanings. Behavioral and physiological measures of stress and anxiety were collected during dental cleanings. Results. Children with ASD exhibited greater distress, compared to the typical group, on dentist-report and researcher-coded measures of overt distress behaviors and on physiological measures. Correlations between physiological and behavioral measures of distress were found in the ASD but not in the typical group. Behavioral distress was correlated with age in the typical group and with expressive communication ability and sensory processing difficulties in the ASD group; physiological distress was correlated with parent-report of anxiety in the typical group and sensory processing difficulties in the ASD group. Conclusions. Novel strategies may be required to decrease behavioral and physiological distress in children with ASD in the dental clinic.