It is an emerging branch of Dentistry that is often ignored is very well looked after here at Durrani’s Dental Clinic because people with special needs require special care in dentistry. Not everyone is as privileged as others, but health and dental care should be the same for everyone. We do not want them to worry about their dental health.
What is special care dentistry?
Special care dentistry is the specialty where oral care is provided to the patients, mostly kids with disabilities, mental issues, and special needs. Such patients cannot maintain their oral hygiene and develop many dental problems. Therefore, special care dentistry helps these patients and get rid of their dental issues. Although these patients, especially kids, can be highly uncooperative and difficult to deal with because they fear strangers, dentists or their instruments can trigger anxiety. Hence a separate protocol has been designed for them, with a less crowded and less scary environment.
Who needs special care dentistry?
Adults and kids with mental, medical, emotional, physical impairments and disabilities such as ADHD, autism, down syndrome, people with cerebral palsy, dysphagia are a few examples that need special care dentistry.
Health conditions like ADHD and Autism are often overlooked and considered taboo due to a lack of awareness in Pakistan, so Durrani’s Dental Clinic is continually working on how to normalize it and provide the best dental care to them.
Parents always accompany such patients to make them feel comfortable and they are counseled as well. Dr. Shoaib Durrani at Durrani’s Dental Clinic believes in the awareness of special needs patients and their parents because such kids may not even be able to brush properly by themselves; hence their parents are instructed to help them to prevent dental problems.
Is there a separate dental team for special care dentistry?
Although the dentists’ work is the same, a dental team is prepared and trained; only the dentist who voluntarily agrees to deal with such patients requires extreme patience and is added to the team. In special care dentistry, dentist and speech therapists may also collaborate. Because the special needs kids require dental care as well as therapy for impaired speech, dysphagia. They usually go hand in hand, so the patient is treated carefully, and no stone is left unturned to make them better and more independent.
How to manage a patient in special care dentistry?
Every single aspect in the dental clinic has to be kept in mind accordingly to take care of them, such as;
- Avoid having too much noise or a crowd in the clinic.
- Ensure that instruments are not in sight of these patients because they may evoke fear.
- Try to make the patient comfortable; allow their parents to accompany them, try to make the clinic more welcoming and friendly, add in wheelchairs so the elderly or impaired can be transported easily, make sure the seats and dental chairs are comfortable if not, add in some cushions.
- The dentists try to wear finger guards when examining such patients because they can bite you while resisting.
- Talk to the patient and make them feel comfortable.
- Counsel the parents and ask for their help to make the patient co-operate.
- Reward such patients for their excellent behavior as positive reinforcement.
- Ensure that special needs patients visit the dental clinic regularly; be strict about this with their parents.
What can be done to help patients in special needs dentistry?
Special needs patients will need special dental care even at home, which can be made possible by making a few alterations in the dental lifestyle such as;
- Custom-made appliances to help stop drooling.
- Mouthguards or occlusal splints to reduce teeth grinding habits (brushes).
- Exercise devices for restricted mouth opening
- Flexible toothbrushes with bending handles; hence it is easier to brush.
- Taking care of the diet (done by the parents) candies, sugary food, sticky food should be avoided at all cost in special needs to prevent any dental issues.
Dentists and parents together can make the living standard of a special needs’ patient better. Dentists at Durrani’s Dental Clinic helps to cater to the dental needs of their special needs’ patients. Call us at +92-21-37227441 to book an appointment and make your dental problems go away.
