Research Article Barriers in Access to Dental Services Hindering the Treatment of People with Disabilities: A Systematic Review Saulo V. da Rosa , 1 Samuel J. Moys´ es, 1 La´ ıs C. Theis, 2 Renata C. Soares, 1 Simone T. Moys´ es, 1 Renata I. Werneck, 1 and Juliana S. Rocha 1 1 School of Life Sciences, Pontifical Catholic University of Paran´ a, Curitiba 80215-901, Paran´ a, Brazil 2 School of Medicine, Pontifical Catholic University of Paran´ a, Curitiba 80215-901, Paran´ a, Brazil Correspondence should be addressed to Saulo V. da Rosa; sauloviinicius@hotmail.com Received 16 February 2020; Accepted 21 April 2020; Published 23 July 2020 Academic Editor: Stefano Pagano; stefano.pagano@unipg.it Copyright©2020SauloV.daRosaetal.isisanopenaccessarticledistributedundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionLicense, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background.Peoplewithdisabilitiestendtohavegreateroralhealthproblemscomparedtothosewithoutdisabilities.ismaybedue tobarrierstheycomeacrossinaccessingdentalservices. Objectives.eobjectiveofthissystematicreviewwastoprovideacriticaldigest of the scientific literature concerning barriers and facilitators of access to oral health services for people with disabilities. Methods.e electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS), and Brazilian Library of Dentistry (BBO) were searched using keywords relevant to the subject. e search was not restricted to specific languages or years of publication; all relevant studies were translated and reviewed. Results. Sixteen studies including 14 articles, a doctoral thesis, and a monograph were selected, and their quality was analysed using the Downs and Black assessment tool. Barriers to dentalservicesweredividedintophysicalornonphysicalbasedonthedentist’sperspective,aspertheperceptionofparents/guardiansor by the persons with disabilities. e barriers that emerged included the dentist’s lack of preparation to assist people with disabilities, structuralproblemsofaccesstodentaloffices,communicationdifficulties,andlackofawarenessregardingtheneedfordentaltreatment for the disabled person. Conclusion. It is concluded that people with disabilities continue to run into complex physical, behavioural, or multidimensional barriers in accessing dental services. Improved training of dentists for the care of this population is hereby em- phasized. e legal framework enabling access to dental care for people with disabilities must also be respected in each country. 1. Introduction e number of persons with disabilities worldwide is almost one billion [1]. e affected population is at a higher risk of caries and periodontal disease [2–5] compared to those without disabilities. Epidemiological profiles in oral health show a difference, for example, in the DMFT (decayed, missing, and filled teeth) of people with disabilities when compared to people without disabilities. ese differences may vary according to the country and the types of dis- abilities included in the survey. In South Korea, researchers evaluated comparable samples of people (a) with physical disabilities (DMFT � 7.3), (b) with mental disabilities (DMFT � 8.3), and (c) with multiple disabilities (DMFT � 8.2) and people without disabilities (DMFT � 4.9) [6]. In another study carried out in Portugal, with institutionalized people with disabilities, a mean DMFT of 11.2 was found which was much higher than the general population of the same age group [7]. In Brazil, in a study carriedoutwithpeoplewithDownsyndrome,cerebralpalsy, and intellectual deficit, the average DMFT was 11.0, also quite high when compared to the general population of the same age group [8]. is is partly due to the difficulties encountered in the care of the oral cavity, which include structural barriers and motor difficulties and those associated with communication withthecaregiverregardingtheneedfororalhealthcare[4], in addition to the degree of dependence on caregivers for hygiene and good eating practices [3]. is dependence observed in persons with disabilities can often make their oral care take a back seat for parents or caregivers, as their overall health becomes a priority [9, 10]. Hindawi International Journal of Dentistry Volume 2020, Article ID 9074618, 17 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/9074618