Behaviour of Dentists Concerning Children with Special Needs in Nigeria

Objectives: Behaviour problems of children with special needs (CSN) in the dental setting usually result in special challenges for dentists. Many practitioners have been reported in literature as reluctant to provide care for this group of children. This study examines the knowledge, attitude and behaviour of dental practitioners in Nigeria in relation to management of CSN. Methods: Three hundred and fifty nine questionnaires requesting socio-demographic information, year of graduation, level of training, self-rated knowledge in care of CSN and attitude and behaviour were hand-delivered to dentists across the three geographical zones of Nigeria over a period of 8 weeks. Data were collected and analyzed using appropriate test statistics, with level of significance at p<0.05. Results: Respondents were 280 (79.9%) and consisted of 157 (56.1%) males and 123 (43.9%) females. Majority (44.3%) were aged 30-40 years, and most (51.4%) were fresh graduates of <5 years post-graduation. Over 80% of respondents treated children with disabilities, the physically challenged being the most encountered. Over 60% felt they had fairly adequate knowledge of the management of CSN, majority being males and in the < 30 years age group. There was a statistically significant association between years of graduation and level of knowledge (p<0.05). Dentists practicing in teaching hospitals and those who rated their knowledge and training as adequate were more willing to treat and face the challenges of managing CSN. Among respondents who were unwilling to treat (11.7%), 38% gave reasons of lack of cooperation, 21% claimed their treatment was time-consuming and 9.5% were not interested. Conclusions: Challenging behaviour and prolonged treatment period were major barriers to provision of care for CSN in Nigeria. The authors suggest that better exposure to this field and training in management techniques will improve the attitude and behaviour of dentists toward their management.