Comments for Oral Health Care for Persons with Developmental Disabilities

Comment on Managing Dental Care for Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder by The website

The website — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 12:08:50 +0000

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Comment on Managing Dental Care for Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder by Lena

Lena — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 12:46:29 +0000

It’s great that you are getting ideas from this article as well as from our discussion made here.

Comment on Upcoming Webinar: Pulling Teeth: Working to Change Access to Dental Care for America’s Most Vulnerable by Kim Hutchinson

Kim Hutchinson — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 20:42:13 +0000

Disability Funders Network is proud to be hosting this webinar to faciliatate this important conversation

Comment on Treating the Dental Patient with a Developmental Disorder by holisticdentistry

holisticdentistry — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 21:41:34 +0000

Thank you for sharing this information. The patient experience is a critical element of dental care, and practitioners must always be proactive in ensuring that all patients’ needs are met appropriately. I can think of nothing more important.

Comment on Dr. Perlman: Special Needs Dentists are like Pirates by Project Updates | Oral Health Care for Persons with Developmental Disabilities

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 19:16:37 +0000

[...] Oral Health Care for Persons with Developmental Disabilities Skip to content Home ← Dr. Perlman: Special Needs Dentists are like Pirates [...]

Comment on Golisano Foundation and Eastman Institute Partner to Help People with Developmental Disabilities by Jenny Stanberry-Beall

Jenny Stanberry-Beall — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 02:33:12 +0000

Our family has been incredibly fortunate. Early on, we found Lynne Halik and Tyger Foster, pediatric dentists. Their practice is a stunning example of success. They work with all types of children, and have a huge following among families with kids who have special needs. All four of our children happily go in for visits, including the two who have ASD. Obtaining routine and even emergency care has been easier than I could ever have imagined, with absolutely no trauma. We also have had the great fortune to work with Joe Quevedo, endodontist, who performed a root canal on my daughter. She was so happy and comfortable that she didn’t want to leave the office. Finally, we are just at the beginning of our journey into the world of orthodontia. We are working with Scott Stein, and he and his office have immediately and graciously accommodated *all* of the complications and extra office visits that we have already required.
My biggest wish is that more viable options like these professionals existed, both to provide choices for families, and to meet the needs of all. Also, I wonder about how our children’s dental health experiences will evolve as they age out of pediatric dentistry.

Comment on Community Input Needed at Upcoming Workshop by Larry

Larry — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 22:09:05 +0000

Very nice job of listing the upcoming community on the oral health needs of people with disabilities. I am planning to attend and have registered, I urge others to do so.

Comment on Golisano Foundation and Eastman Institute Partner to Help People with Developmental Disabilities by Kevin Judge

Kevin Judge — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 17:35:13 +0000

We have been taking my son Leland to Cheryl Kelley, a pediatric dentist, for his dental needs since he was old enough to see the dentist(he is now 21). Leland has Down Syndrom, and has never really minded seeing the dentist, but due to an accident when he was very young, which involved the extraction of some teeth, his mature teeth came in quite compact and a bit crooked. Because we knew he would not be at all compliant, we opted not to have him go through the rigors of having braces. Therefore, we really need to be very diligent with assisting Leland with his daily flossing and brushing. Dr. Kelley was noticing that the plaque build up on Leland’s teeth was getting pretty bad in his early teens, and his gums were beginning to show signs of gingivitus, due to the fact that we were not able to adequately brush his teeth. Dr. Kelley was ready to refer Leland to a Periodontist at this point.
What Dr. Kelley found is that in the standing position Leland’s mouth and oral cavity was very tight, and he was very resistant to allowing us to brush his teeth properly. What she suggested was no less than genius. At bed time, with Leland in the lying position, we began flossing and brushing Leland’s teeth, and then having him rinse his teeth just prior to going to sleep at night. Within a few months Dr. Kelley was reporting that she was finding almost no plaque whatsoever on his teeth, and his gums were almost 100% better. I couldn’t believe how relaxed Leland was while I was flossing and brushing his teeth. This approach, to have Leland lie down while I was flossing and brushing his teeth had an unbelievable impact on Leland’s oral health, and probably saved the health care system an unknown amount of money, since we were able to avoid having to go the route of the periodontist. A simple solution to a very frustrating dilemna that I’m sure many parent in our shoes face every day, which probably leads to many, many unnecessay visits to the dentist, periodontist, or oral surgeon.

Comment on Golisano Foundation and Eastman Institute Partner to Help People with Developmental Disabilities by Samantha Preston

Samantha Preston — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:35:11 +0000

My 8yr old autistic son refuses dental care. The first time we took him to our family dentist, he would not leave the waiting to go into the exam room. The end of last summer we notice visible decay in a couple back teeth and after hearing about Eastman Dental Center from the Kirch Center we made an appt with them for the end of September. We live in Ithaca, NY so it’s a 2 ½ hour drive for us but we were desperate to find a place that had experience with children on the autism spectrum and that offers general anesthesia procedures.

We showed up about 20 min early to our appt but they immediately showed us to a private exam room. Luckily, my son had no time to think about refusing before we were sitting comfortable in the room. The dentist and nurse came in within 5-10 minutes. They were experienced with how my son was reacting and within 15-20min the exam was over and we were heading home. The dentist was able to visibly see that my son had at least 5 – 6 cavities, and after discussing the option with us, we chose to proceed with general anesthesia.

Now this process is a very long wait. I believe there is a committee at Eastman that approves these procedures, then they get approval from your insurance, and then it gets sent to a case worker at Eastman that schedules the procedure. This process can take up to 6 months. This I think needs improvement, however, when my son started having tooth pain in the middle of December, Eastman was able to get us scheduled for surgery on Jan 11. It probably would have been sooner if it wasn’t for the holidays and the pre-op physical. This I was very thankful for!

The dental surgery was performed at Sawgrass Surgical Center. The nurses that contacted us prior to surgery were very knowledgeable and helpful. And, the entire staff that looked after my son the day of his surgery were amazing. They were very thoughtful and caring. They made us feel comfortable and safe. My son has never been better at a doctor’s visit!

The whole experience from start to finish was great, and I highly recommend Eastman Dental to anyone who has a child who is difficult with dental care and a disability. We will continue to use them until my son can successfully and comfortably visit our family dentist.

Thank you,
Samantha Preston
Mother of a child with Autism

Comment on Golisano Foundation and Eastman Institute Partner to Help People with Developmental Disabilities by Karen Peck

Karen Peck — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:31:16 +0000

HI,
I am the parent of a 13 year old boy who has Aspergers. We started coming to Eastman Dental 2 years ago when we lost our Dental Insurance. Since my son had Medicaid insurance, due to his developmental disability, I was told by other families that this was a great place to go for my son’s Dental health. Due to some other health issues, my son has always been orally defensive and has experienced great anxiety at any medical appointment. We have had wonderful care and I’m sorry we didn’t find you sooner! All the Doctors we have had for check ups/cleaning, pulling stubborn baby teeth and educating my son have been fabulous. Over the years the biggest obstacle has been his oral hygiene. With each doctor and their explanation of how important it is and their little stories that make a lasting impression, my son has made progress in this area. I would say that the most important things a Dentist can do for a child who is nervous is to be patient, take their time, explain as simply as possible, listen to the parents- they know their child and what works best. Social Stories work for some kids, that might be something to place in the waiting area for kids/parents to read.
Thank you!
Karen Peck