A new and free online toolkit designed for parents of Autistic children has been released. The toolkit provides resources, information, and guides for parents, with the aim of improving the oral health of their children. As children with autism tend to have poorer oral health than their peers, having a toolkit like this is very useful. It will hopefully improve the dental health of those with the condition.
Children with Autism have a number of difficulties in life. Similarly, their parents – some of whom will also be Autistic – are impacted by the consequences of this condition.
One of the difficulties facing autistic children revolves around dental health. To ensure positive overall health, it is important for oral health to not be neglected by this already vulnerable group.
Now, a new, free, online support package has been created, which has the aim of empowering parents of autistic children to aid them in looking after their dental health [1].
This has the aim of improving their oral health through reducing levels of tooth decay. Subsequently, they can attain improved physical health, which can lessen the burden caused by this condition.
What is Autism?
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder. It is sometimes called Autism Spectrum Disorder. Moreover, those with the condition may be called “neurodiverse.”
Autistic children face a number of challenges in life. For example, social interaction, communication, and sensory processing are all areas they typically struggle with.
Autism is a lifelong condition. Causes of the condition are unknown, with genetics being put forward as a possible factor.
Autistic children and oral health
Another challenge faced by autistic children surrounds oral health. Research has consistently shown that autistic children have poorer oral health compared to those without the condition [2].
In fact, research shows that one in four autistic children have tooth decay by the age of 5 [3]. They are also twice as likely to need treatment under general anesthetic when going to the dentist.
Factors behind this include struggles in maintaining routine toothbrushing, issues in getting children to attend the dentist, and diet [2].
Additionally, due to communication problems, some autistic children find it challenging to express themselves when they are in dental pain.
Similarly, those who have repetitive behaviors may have limited diets, which means they can develop nutritional deficiencies. Such diets are often high in sugar too.
The impact of poor oral health in childhood affects someone for life. Therefore, it is crucial that parents play a role in establishing strong oral habits.
For example, this includes brushing teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste, limiting sugary foods and drinks, and visiting the dentist regularly for check-ups.
For autistic children, maintaining these habits is challenging. Then for parents, this adds on an additional layer of difficulty. Therefore, having a toolkit to assist them is highly-sought after!
The toolkit
The toolkit was designed by a team from the University of Leeds. Research co-leader Amrit Chauhan said that the team wanted “to help parents feel more confident in caring for their young autistic children’s teeth” [1].
The toolkit has been published on the toothPASTE website [4]. This website was created through support from professionals, families of children with autism, and researchers.
To create the website, researchers interviewed minimally-verbal autistic children. The children used visual communication aids to describe the sensory difficulties they were facing [1].
Moreover, the study also involved interviews with families and early years professionals [1]. Therefore, the researchers were able to gain a thorough understanding of their target market.
The website provides parents with practical and tailored solutions with the individual needs of their child(ren) in mind. The solutions are focused on visiting the dentist, eating and drinking healthily, and toothbrushing [4].
There is plenty of information available on the website. This includes videos, downloadable resources, and a forum [4].
The forum is particularly useful, as it provides parents with an area where they can share their experiences and provide advice to one another.
Dr. Shannu Bhatia of the British Society of Pediatric Dentistry has praised the website. Bhatia says that “the research that has gone into the toothPASTE website has enabled the development of a set of well-targeted tools to support neurodivergent young people and will really help their parents and caregivers” [1].
The website is available to everyone. Even those without a formal diagnosis of autism will be able to use the website and access its resources. Hopefully, it will prove very helpful to multiple people.
Summary
The hope is that this toolkit will help to reduce inequalities between autistic children and others. Improving the oral health of autistic children is very important.
The team have said that they will continue to work with various stakeholders to finetune the toolkit, with the aim of maximizing the effectiveness of the website [1].
Peter Day, Professor of Children’s Oral Health and Consultant in Pediatric Dentistry at the University of Leeds, has spoken of the importance of this toolkit [1].
Day says that “tooth decay is a major health problem, but it is preventable” [1]. Continuing, he says that “establishing optimal habits in early life provides the foundations for long term oral health and reduces the impact of tooth decay on autistic children, their families, the NHS and wider society” [1].
Clearly, there are a range of benefits to this toolkit. Hopefully, in the long-term this toolkit will help many people and result in improved oral health for autistic children.
Thinking points…
[1] We mentioned above about the importance of getting check-ups. However, it isn’t just children that need these check-ups! Dental check-ups are crucial, as they offer us all a chance to have our oral health reviewed by a dentist. They can look for any issues, provide advice, and make recommendations too if needed. You should book an appointment soon!
[2] Do you, or anyone you know, have autistic children? If so, the toothPASTE website could be really helpful! The website is full of interesting and useful information which can be very helpful. You can access the website here: https://www.autismtoothcare.com/.
What we offer at Taradale Dental
Taradale Dental is a dental clinic based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. At our Calgary dental clinic, we provide a range of services for our patients.
We advise our patients to attend our Calgary dental clinic at least twice per year for a regular dental check-up. At these check-ups, we provide a comprehensive review of a patient’s oral health. If any problems are detected, we have many treatments available. For example, these include cavity fillings and root canals. To strengthen your oral health, we recommend brushing your teeth at least twice a day and flossing regularly.
Here at Taradale Dental, we also have some cosmetic treatments available! These include dental implants, teeth whitening and Invisalign™! Our patients find that these treatments have a positive impact on their appearance, confidence and self-esteem.
Moreover, the fees of our treatments at our Calgary dental clinic Taradale Dental are set in line with the Alberta Dental Fee Guide. This ensures transparent and fair pricing, with no hidden costs.
We hope to see you soon at our Taradale Dental clinic in Calgary! You can find out more about us by visiting our website https://taradaledental.ca/!
References
[1] Harley, S. (2025). Online toolkit to help parents of autistic children improve dental health. Available: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-07-online-toolkit-parents-autistic-children.html. Last accessed: 18th July 2025.
[2] Zerman, N., Zotti, F., Chirumbolo, S., et al. (2022). Insights on dental care management and prevention in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). What is new?. Frontiers. 3. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/froh.2022.998831.
[3] University of Leeds. (2025). Online toolkit to improve autistic children’s dental health. Available: https://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/5816/online-toolkit-to-improve-autistic-childrens-dental-health. Last accessed: 18th July 2025.
[4] toothPASTE. (2025). Homepage. Available: https://www.autismtoothcare.com/. Last accessed: 18th July 2025.
