Disability Dental Services Blog

Preparing for a first special needs dental visit can feel overwhelming for patients and caregivers alike. Whether the patient is a child or an adult, thoughtful preparation can make the experience calmer, more comfortable, and more successful. Special needs dentistry focuses on individualized care, and a little planning ahead of time can go a long way.

Here are 4 helpful tips to prepare for your first special needs dental visit.

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Caring for a person of any age with special needs is hard work. Depending on their level of independence, it can involve many aspects of personal care, including oral hygiene. Often, despite the best efforts of their guardians, patients with developmental or other disabilities have higher rates of dental problems like cavities and gum disease. Here’s a closer look at some of these challenges, and how a dentist who specializes in treating these amazing patients can help!

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Visiting the dentist can be a source of anxiety for many people, and for individuals with special needs, routine dental care can sometimes feel overwhelming or even impossible without extra support. Sedation dentistry offers a safe and effective way to make dental procedures more comfortable, whether through oral conscious sedation or general anesthesia. Understanding if you are a good candidate can help you take the next step toward relaxed, stress-free dental care.

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Did you know that the American Dental Association has estimated that approximately 36% of American adults experience some form of anxiety when visiting their dentist? Thankfully, many providers offer sedatives that can soothe your frayed nerves and help you get through your appointment successfully.

But that’s not the only reason your dentist might recommend these medications. Continue reading to learn 3 additional advantages of dental sedation above and beyond ‘just’ easing your anxiety!

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When it comes to helping people with special needs, one challenge that often comes up is that of comfort. Due to physical limitations, cognitive impairment, or other issues, it can be difficult for many patients with special needs to remain calm and still for procedures. Fortunately, there is a solution. A skilled dentist can use sedation to put patients to sleep so they breeze through even relatively extensive treatments.

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At the end of the day, every smile deserves personalized and compassionate care—and for patients with special needs, maintaining excellent oral health can sometimes come with unique challenges. Furthermore, these patients can also be more vulnerable to some of the more common oral health issues out there. Here’s a closer look at some of these issues, along with how routine preventive care can make a monumental difference in helping to prevent them in the first place.

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Modern dental bridges are incredibly lifelike in appearance and comfortable to wear, but they are not designed to last forever. Years of use can leave your appliance with a lot of wear and tear, and accumulations of plaque and food debris in hard-to-reach places can lead to unpleasant smells as well as oral infections. Here’s a brief guide to how long your dental bridge can stay in good shape and how you can make it last for as long as possible.

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If your loved one is missing one or more teeth, a dental bridge can help by bridging the gaps in their smile, giving them a complete smile again. Dental implants are ideal for replacing one or more consecutive missing teeth, but they aren’t completely indestructible. Here are some of the most common reasons for dental bridge failure so you can help your family member avoid it.

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Being able to maintain healthy teeth and gums every day is incredibly important when it comes to enjoying a great smile. However, this can be quite challenging for those who struggle with certain disabilities, such as cerebral palsy. Fortunately, this doesn’t mean your loved one can’t make the most of a nice set of pearly whites in the long run. Read on to learn how cerebral palsy can negatively impact oral health care and ways to help overcome this issue.

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Root canal treatment is one of the scariest-sounding procedures out there. When movies and TV want to make a joke about dentists, they are often portrayed as sellers of pain who delight in the misery of their patients. They usually stand over someone with a comically large drill and declare, “It’s time for a root canal!”

Firstly, these notions about dentists enjoying pain are false. Your dentist will do everything in their power to ensure that any procedure that you undertake is free from pain. Secondly, the procedure for a root canal doesn’t have to be scary, it can be fascinating! Continue reading to see how a root canal is performed and what to expect after treatment.

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