Safa Saeed, Myle Akshay Kiran, Reema Sultan Alshahrani, Rahaf Saud Alobaidi, Lena Abdulrahman Alotai, Fatimah Farhan Almalki, Fahad Khalid Almasoudi, Hadeel Ali Almalky, Lama Alhatem, Hadeel Horais Alzahrani, Amirah Aldowish, Randa Abdulaziz Aleyoni, Setah Abothnin, Rana Abdullah Almaiman, Leen Alzaaqi
Current evidence supports integrated, family-centered, function-based, and prevention-oriented dental care for children with special health care needs and disabilities. However, the evidence base remains limited by heterogeneous designs, provider-centered outcomes, small samples, narrative sources, and limited comparative child-outcome data. Future research should prioritize prospective multicenter studies using standardized clinical, behavioral, access-related, and quality-of-life outcomes.
BACKGROUND: Children with special health care needs and disabilities experience a disproportionate burden of preventable oral disease, unmet dental needs, behavioral barriers to treatment, and fragmented access to specialist dental services.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This scoping review mapped contemporary evidence on pediatric dental management strategies for children with special health care needs, with emphasis on prevention, behavior guidance, interdisciplinary care, teledentistry, and service delivery. A structured search was planned across PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, ClinicalTrials.gov, and grey-literature sources for English-language evidence published from January 2015 to August 2025. Evidence was charted using a population-concept-context framework and synthesized narratively according to source type and clinical theme.
RESULTS: The final evidence map comprised 20 topic-relevant sources, including systematic reviews, observational studies, qualitative studies, educational program reports, narrative reviews, textbooks, and expert consensus documents. No randomized controlled trial was verified among the cited sources; therefore, the manuscript was framed as a scoping review rather than an effectiveness-focused systematic review. Four major themes were identified: preventive and caregiver-mediated oral-health support, individualized behavior guidance and sensory adaptation, interdisciplinary medical-dental collaboration, and technology-enabled access, including teledentistry.
CONCLUSION: Current evidence supports integrated, family-centered, function-based, and prevention-oriented dental care for children with special health care needs and disabilities. However, the evidence base remains limited by heterogeneous designs, provider-centered outcomes, small samples, narrative sources, and limited comparative child-outcome data. Future research should prioritize prospective multicenter studies using standardized clinical, behavioral, access-related, and quality-of-life outcomes.