Special Needs Dentistry

[00:00:08.880] I have been doing special needs dentistry for many years, [00:00:11.776] 27 years to be exact. [00:00:13.490] I have done a multitude of treatments on special needs patients. [00:00:16.760] We see them here in the office, [00:00:18.436] and we have done a variety of treatments to help them [00:00:21.101] maintain and keep their teeth as long as possible. [00:00:24.210] We have down syndrome patients, we have cerebral palsy patients, [00:00:27.459] we have Fragile X. [00:00:28.876] All of those patients have [00:00:30.109] a certain diagnosis of what caused their issues. [00:00:33.570] But 80% of the mentally and physically handicapped adults [00:00:36.781] don't have a diagnosis of what exactly happened to them. [00:00:39.518] All of them have a need of trying to maintain their teeth. [00:00:42.451] We find sometimes that their behavioral issues [00:00:44.818] is related to their teeth. [00:00:46.330] If we can get their teeth fixed up and get them in better shape, [00:00:49.668] then their physical and their emotional issues that they have [00:00:53.918] tend to settle down. [00:00:54.951] If they are high functioning enough [00:00:57.134] and can sit, tolerate well in a dental chair, [00:00:59.418] then we'd love to have them come for our regular hygiene program. [00:01:02.843] If they are not high functioning [00:01:04.651] and then we have to take them to a hospital or a surgery center. [00:01:07.690] We like to take them every 18 months to two years [00:01:10.281] to take care of their dental needs, just to get them all fixed up [00:01:13.650] and make sure that they can maintain their teeth [00:01:15.759] and have a better quality of life.