Dental Aspects of Pediatric Patients Diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Objective: There are no clear guidelines for managing the dental treatment of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The use of sedation in combination with chronic ADHD medication use is also not well defined. This study surveyed the management techniques and knowledge of pharmacologic therapies of ADHD children among Israeli dentists.
Study Design: A specially designed questionnaire was distributed to all Israeli dentists attending a national conference in 2016.
Results: Of the 160 dentists who attended the conference, 96 completed the survey (60% response rate), and they included 46 (51%) pediatric dental specialists and 50 (49%) general dental practitioners. The medications Ritalin and Concerta were most familiar to the respondents (98.9%). Eighty-seven (91.1%) of the practitioners responded that their ADHD patients take their usual doses of any drug for treating ADHD symptoms, regardless of whether or not the dentists intended to use sedatives. The practitioners invented their own behavior management techniques with varying degrees of success.
Conclusions: There are no specific guidelines for the most effective pharmacologic protocol (co-administration of ADHD drugs and dental sedatives) or behavior management techniques for the provision of optimal dental care to children with ADHD.