Toothbrushing and Oral Care Activities of Autistic and Non-Autistic Latino Children

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. one author of this publication is identified as autistic in the project.

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Floríndez, L., Como, D., Floríndez, D., Floríndez, F. M., Law, E., Polido, J., & Cermak, S. (2022). Toothbrushing and Oral Care Activities of Autistic and Non-Autistic Latino Children. Children, 9(5), 741. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9050741

Publication date: 18 May 2022 Added to AutiHub: 18 Oct 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
7
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 7 (14.3%)
  1. Lucía Floríndez
  2. Dominique Como
  3. Daniella Floríndez *
  4. Francesca M. Floríndez
  1. Evelyn Law
  2. Jose Polido
  3. Sharon Cermak

Abstract

Background: Oral care activities, e.g., toothbrushing, are habitual occupations often considered routine. However, for autistic children, performing these routine dental practices can be challenging due to the child’s sensory sensitivities, unique executive function, and the complicated way in which autistic children conceptualize structure and habits. Limited research exists exploring the nuances of oral care routines in the autistic population, and more knowledge is needed to support targeted education interventions to improve oral care and address health inequities. The purpose of this study was to examine videos of oral care routines in the home to understand how oral care activities, such as toothbrushing, were performed by autistic and non-autistic Latino/a children. Methods: Parents/caregivers from eighteen Latino/a families with children between 6 and 12 years old (n = 10 autistic children and n = 8 non-autistic children) video recorded their child’s oral care routines for three days. The research team blindly coded and analyzed these videos using an oral care observation template to understand how these activities were uniquely performed by the children. Results: Eighty-five oral care videos were analyzed for this study. In addition to noting areas of oral care that can be improved, which included length of brushing and using the correct brushing technique, we identified two themes related to the differences between oral care practices in the autistic and non-autistic children: parent involvement and modifications. Conclusions: Qualitative findings show that parental involvement was documented especially in the case of autistic children, and that two types of modifications, habitual and sensory, were observed that demonstrated parents being aware of the needs of their autistic child and modifying the oral care activity to meet those needs. By synthesizing observations from the oral care videos into suggestions for practitioners working with families, we hope to supplement knowledge about effective oral care practices for autistic and non-autistic Latino/a children, thereby improving overall oral health and reducing oral health inequities in this population.

Bibliography cited by this reference

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Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 28 Oct 2026 01:01.

Cited references
42
With a DOI
30
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
10
4 / 42 (9.5%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
7 / 42 (16.7%)
References with detected author names
35 / 42 (83.3%)
Without detected author names
7
Without a structured title
5
Without a stable identifier
6
References with raw author names still to review
5
References with external metadata lookup issues
1
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
172
From DOI or external metadata
172
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
16
48 / 172 (27.9%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 124 / 172 (72.1%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
5 / 172 (2.9%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 5 / 48 (10.4%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 3 / 134 (2.2%).
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