Special Needs Dental Care Q & A
What is special needs dental care?
Special needs dental care refers to the type of care children receive when they have physical, medical or cognitive disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Down syndrome, or severe anxiety.
Children with special needs deserve the same individualized care that all our patients receive. To ensure we meet their unique needs, we take a compassionate, careful approach to certain dental treatments, like teeth cleanings or restorative dentistry.
How does special needs dental care work?
Our team take extra steps to ensure they’re making their patients with special needs feel safe, comfortable, and relaxed.
If you’re a parent or guardian, it’s important that you give our team as much information as possible regarding your child’s medical condition. Understanding your child’s sensitivities, fears, behaviors, and preferences is an essential step in caring for their needs.
Once our team have a better understanding of your child’s condition, they can create a treatment plan to deliver the right care without agitating or causing stress to your child.
What is included in a special needs dental care plan?
There are many ways our team can help your child with special needs feel comfortable during their visit.
Visiting the dentist is often overwhelming for children with sensory issues. New sights, smells, tastes, and sounds can trigger discomfort and fear in unfamiliar surroundings. If you have noise-canceling headphones at home, we encourage you to bring them for your child to minimize any auditory discomfort.
Listening to calming music, watching a movie, or holding a beloved stuffed animal can also help your child relax. As compassionate pediatric dentists, we bring a positive, friendly attitude to every visit to ensure children feel as comfortable as possible under our care.
If your child is unable to sit through their visit comfortably, our doctors may recommend sedation techniques, oral sedation (liquid), or deep sedation (general anesthesia in a hospital setting).
Sedation dentistry uses medications to promote relaxation and minimize pain and discomfort to reduce any anxiety your child may have during their visit. If you opt for general anesthesia, your child may even sleep through their appointment.
If your child has special needs, our experienced and compassionate team will deliver the best care possible.
