{"id":439,"date":"2014-12-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-12-10T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/\/template2\/dental-care-blog\/considerations-for-dental-patients-with-special-needs\/"},"modified":"2014-12-10T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2014-12-10T00:00:00","slug":"considerations-for-dental-patients-with-special-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/dental-care-blog\/considerations-for-dental-patients-with-special-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"Considerations For Dental Patients With Special Needs"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.johnjhermanddsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/specialneedsbrushing133.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-995830\" \/>  <strong>FOR BOTH CHILDREN AND ADULTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS<\/strong>, dental care can be challenging. In some cases, limited coordination can make brushing and flossing tricky. In other cases there may be less\u00a0access to professional care. Some patients may experience high anxiety levels too.  Medications that lead to dry mouth can also contribute to dental care\u00a0challenges.  But despite these challenges, everyone deserves a\u00a0healthy smile. <strong>Here are three tips for helping\u00a0patients and caregivers:<\/strong> <\/p>\n<h3><strong>1.\u00a0Let Us Help<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p> A dental office can feel\u00a0overwhelming to those with special needs. But you know that regular preventative care training is essential\u2014especially for patients and caregivers who may need instructions about specialized\u00a0home care. Let us know what we can do to help. <\/p>\n<h3><strong>2.\u00a0Utilize Special Tools If Needed<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p> The average toothbrush may not be ideal. Look into alternative options that can help. <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Electric toothbrushes can sometimes do more with less effort.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Modifying a toothbrush with a gripping tool is often very helpful.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>A water pik can be more comfortable and a fun alternative to flossing.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>If you\u2019re cleaning someone else\u2019s mouth, a floss pik can make it much easier.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>3. Simple\u00a0Preventative Habits<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p> Certain simple habits can curtail dental risks, especially when thorough, daily dental care is difficult. <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Minimize snacks<\/strong>, especially starchy, sugary ones. Opt for crisp fruits and veggies.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reduce soft drinks<\/strong>, energy drinks, and sports drinks. These have lots of acid and sugar that can harm teeth.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Drink water regularly<\/strong>, and rinse after each meal or snack.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>We Know That Each Patient Is Unique<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>  When we talk about special needs, <strong>we recognize we\u2019re addressing a very\u00a0diverse group from elderly men and women\u00a0with Alzheimer\u2019s disease, to children with developmental disabilities.<\/strong> We know each patient\u00a0who comes through our door\u00a0has different challenges.  Please consider us your go-to resource. If we can\u2019t accommodate your exact needs, we will do everything we can to advise you and point you in the right direction. Please <strong>call<\/strong> to visit with us about your specific needs. Or, if you know someone who could benefit from this post, please pass this information along. <\/p>\n<h4>Thanks for the trust you place in us. We appreciate you.<\/h4>\n<h6>Top image by Flickr user <span style=\"color: #2a7abd\"><a style=\"color: #2a7abd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/honzasoukup\/3711073454\/\" target=\"_blank\">Honza Soukup<\/a><\/span> used under <span style=\"color: #2a7abd\"><a style=\"color: #2a7abd\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\" target=\"_blank\">Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 4.0 license<\/a><\/span>. Image cropped and modified from original.<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>FOR BOTH CHILDREN AND ADULTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS<\/strong>, dental care can sometimes be challenging&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[176],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-176","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=439"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}