Blog Highlights:

• As much as 50 million Americans have been diagnosed with disability in 2010
• These people have physical or mental impairments that will limit their ability to get dental care from the average dentist
• With the help of special care dentistry, these patients can easily get treatments that are designed to meet their limitations
• The special care dentist is trained to understand each patient’s unique needs
• The special care dentist also needs to provide ramps, wider doors, and parking, as well as special chairs to his or her patients

In 2010, there were 50 million American citizens with a diagnosed disability. By definition, they are people that have physical or mental impairments that hinder them from performing common life activities. Some of them have vision, hearing, movement, or communication disabilities. Patients with special needs come in all ages, a great number of them are aged 18-64 years old.

There are dentists who focus on providing care for patients with special needs. Many of these patients need a lot of compassion from their medical care providers. And dentists who want to offer their services to them will need to have a keen understanding of the patient’s specific condition.

Special care dentistry allows the dentist to work with the limitations of people who have such needs. Their training allows them to care for the teeth and gums of people who have cognitive, medical, physical, and developmental conditions. People with special care needs cannot go to regular dentists because their conditions will limit their capability to get routine dental treatments. They will have to see dentists who have the proper training, skills, and equipment that can be used meet their requirements.

Some of the people that this type of dentist can cater to include those who have Down Syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease, Autism, spinal cord injuries and those who need wheelchairs or walkers. People who have suffered a stroke or heart disease, arthritis, and other similar medical conditions can also go to a facility that offers special care dentistry.

Aside from having the right training, the dentist should also have an establishment that can easily accommodate these patients. The entrance to their offices need to have ramps, and their main clinic also needs to be big enough to accommodate multiple patients that are in wheelchairs.  The parking lot and the doors should also be wider. The dentist should also have special chairs ready just in case a patient will need to use it during his or her checkup.

You can visit the ADA website so you will know more about special care dentistry and so that you will be able to know more about how special care dentists can cater to you or your family’s needs.