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Whether your special needs child requires a routine dental cleaning or treatment for an existing problem, it’s important to consider whether your dental professional can accommodate your child’s unique challenges. Taking your child to a practice that provides the physical and/or emotional modifications they need can help your child feel safe and comfortable so they can get the care they need.
Special needs dentist Staci Brunell, DMD, and our staff at Yorktown Pediatric Dentistry in Yorktown Heights, New York, have the training and experience necessary to provide dental services to children, teens, and young adults who may need extra help and compassion during dental treatment. Our professional, caring team provides a full range of dental services for children who may need extra attention, adaptations, and accommodations to address special needs.
In this post, we discuss how special needs pediatric dentistry can make a difference in the way your child receives dental care and the type of experience you can expect from our staff.
Without routine dental care, all children are susceptible to cavities, gum disease, and other oral issues. However, children with special needs may have a higher risk of developing dental problems due to an inability to communicate signs of dental disease, tooth decay from certain medications or treatments, or challenges in cooperating with dental professionals.
Whether they’re affected by physical, behavioral, developmental, emotional, or sensory-related conditions, a special needs child is typically unable to cope with a traditional dental office experience. Special needs dentistry works to make standard dental procedures adaptable and accessible for everyone.
Special needs dentistry addresses the needs of children who are challenged by a range of conditions and diseases, such as the following:
The success of your child’s dental visit depends on planning and preparation. This often involves a pre-appointment consultation in which our staff works with you to develop a personalized dental care plan to meet your child’s needs. If you choose, you may bring your child to visit our office and meet the staff before their appointment.
As necessary, our staff consults with other members of your child’s medical team. This assures that our dental services do not interfere with current medications or treatments.
We offer the same preventive, therapeutic, and orthodontic services to special needs children that we offer to all patients. While the dental care we deliver to children with special needs is no different from the care we provide to all children, we work to ensure that the way we interact with a special needs child includes consideration of their unique abilities so their treatment can progress smoothly.
Our office environment is designed to accommodate a range of special needs. In addition, our staff is trained to provide the compassion and support necessary to provide care for children of all ages and abilities. Examples of the accommodations we offer include:
While sedation can be used safely in many dental procedures, the staff of Yorktown Pediatric Dentistry specializes in the use of non-sedative techniques when treating special needs children. We practice the use of positive and calming distraction techniques based on our experience and recommendations from parents.
Some children may benefit from the use of nitrous oxide, a mild and safe analgesic that helps them relax while remaining awake. This avoids the risk of sedation while helping your child to receive the preventive and therapeutic dental services they need.
Find out more about the ways we can tailor dental services to meet your child’s special needs. Contact our office to arrange an emergency consultation.
