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Dental care accessibility is subject to a dentist’s qualification, practice and intention to treat patients, regardless of whether those patients have special healthcare needs (SCN) and should receive treatment in a dental setting. This multicentre study aimed to evaluate the characteristics of patients with SCN, their access to dental care and behaviour towards dental care from their caregiver’s perspective. In addition, the perspective of dental care providers who care for patients with SCN and the factors affecting the provision of treatment was also appraised. The Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia served as the site of this cross-sectional study from 1 February 2020 to 31 January 2022. Caregivers of 272 patients with SCN, regardless of age and gender, were recruited in the study. The caregiver’s proforma sought information on the demographic characteristics, type of disability, cooperation, medical history, occupation of the parent and patient’s behaviour towards oral hygiene and dental healthcare. The second proforma had the dental care provider’s perspective about the common disabilities, factors that affect the decision to provide treatment, difficulties patients face in getting their dental treatment and, from the dentist’s experience, recommendations to improve the access to dental care for patients with SCN. Statistical analysis was carried out by using SPSS version 22.0. The demographic features, caregiver’s perception about oral healthcare accessibility and dental professional’s point of view were presented as frequencies and percentages. Chi-square test was applied to compare the proportions. The majority of the caregivers were satisfied with the dental service providers (91.9%) for their patients with SCN. The dental care provider’s survey results indicated a shortage of dentists (54.7%) in the region and other factors that pose challenges to special care, like the severity of the disability of patients with SCN (50%), family structure (46.7%), treatment cost (35.6%) and transportation (32.8%). Patients with SCN in Saudi Arabia had a high appraisal of access to dental care and were very satisfied with dental treatment results. However, the presence of a dental care provider in the same rehabilitation centre was a major concern. The severity of the disability and the patient’s cooperation were the major factors that may have affected the decision of the dental care provider.

Context: Premature loss of primary teeth is one of the most prevalent dental problems affecting children worldwide. It is commonly caused by dental caries and trauma. Parents are responsible for their children's oral health and should pay close attention to the consequences of space loss. Aims: The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of premature loss of primary teeth among children in Dammam city, Saudi Arabia and evaluate the parents' awareness toward space maintainers. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional study was planned to randomly select children aged between 4 and 9 years who attend governmental and private clinics in Dammam city. Materials and Methods: WHO criteria (WHO 1997) were used to examine decay-missing-filled index and premature loss of primary teeth. Questionnaires were distributed by hand to the parents of selected children to explore their demographic data and their awareness toward space maintainers. Statistical Analysis: Descriptive statistics were used to describe and summarize data collected numerically by SPSS version 20.0. The level of statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Data from the questionnaires were analyzed using the following: frequencies, percentages, cross-tabulation, and Chi-square tests. Results: The mean dmf of the participated children in the study was 2.24 (standard deviation = 2.08). The prevalence of premature loss of primary teeth of the selected children was 20%. Only 37 (18.5%) out of 200 parents were aware about space maintainers. Conclusions: The current study revealed a high prevalence of premature loss of primary teeth among children in Saudi Arabia. The parents were unaware about the space maintainer, its used, maintenance, and benefits.