DUBAI, UAE: Although barriers to dental care for children with special healthcare needs have been documented internationally, there is limited evidence from the perspective of general dentists in the UAE. A new study by researchers in Dubai has examined practitioners’ perceptions of these barriers and their preparedness to provide treatment. The findings point to considerable willingness among practitioners to improve care.
The researchers surveyed general dental practitioners across the UAE to examine their perceptions of barriers to providing care for children with special healthcare needs. They assessed undergraduate preparation, confidence in treating children with special healthcare needs and managing related medical emergencies, clinic accessibility, equipment availability, awareness of relevant legislation and interest in further education.
The most frequently reported barriers were patient behavioural challenges and insufficient practitioner training. Communication difficulties and inadequate infrastructure or a lack of skilled staff were also commonly reported. Although most respondents said that their clinics were physically accessible, more than half reported that suitable equipment was unavailable. The authors highlighted that this discrepancy may suggest that physical access alone may not ensure that a clinic is prepared to provide care for children with special healthcare needs.
Behavioural or emotional impairments were the special healthcare needs encountered most frequently, but respondents reported being most comfortable treating children with physical disabilities. They were also most comfortable providing routine oral examinations, oral hygiene instruction and preventive care, and emergency treatment than advanced procedures.
The findings also indicated a strong willingness to improve clinician preparedness. More than three-quarters of respondents supported including both theoretical and clinical special care dentistry in undergraduate curricula, and the majority expressed interest in additional training. However, self-reported confidence in treating children with special healthcare needs and managing related medical emergencies was generally moderate. The authors regarded this gap between willingness and preparedness as indicating a need for more structured education.
Previous international research has similarly linked lower practitioner confidence and more limited provision of care to difficulties in managing behaviour and communication, insufficient clinical experience and limited undergraduate exposure to special care dentistry. The researchers suggested that, in the UAE context, the findings point to workforce preparedness as an important modifiable factor in readiness to provide care.
According to the authors, stronger undergraduate preparation should focus on foundational competencies, including disability awareness, communication strategies, preventive care, behaviour guidance, reasonable accommodations, emergency preparedness and referral decision-making, rather than on preparing all graduates to independently manage advanced or complex cases. They emphasised that general dentists require sufficient competence to provide preventive and routine care, recognise when adaptations are required and refer complex cases appropriately
The study, titled “Access to dental care for children with special healthcare needs: General dentists’ perspectives from the UAE”, was published online on 6 August 2026 in Frontiers in Oral Health.
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