Special Needs

Why Choose A Pediatric Dentist For Children With Special Needs?

Children with special needs require special attention when it comes to oral hygiene and dental care. To be able to come up with an effective strategy for dental treatment for special needs children, it is important to identify specific factors that will affect their dental health. This will include the physical state of their teeth and other oral structures, calcium levels, the amount of saliva production in their mouths, their diet, and even how they ingest their food. All these factors, along with any underlying conditions, come together and give a cohesive picture of how to best maintain oral health for a child with special needs. Our pediatric dentists are specifically trained to understand their comprehensive needs and treat special needs children with the love and care they deserve.

What Accommodations Are Available For Children With Special Needs?

Some special needs children do better if they have a private room for their exam that is away from any distractions. We provide this for our patients to make them the most comfortable. After the exam, during which our pediatric dentist will make sure your child is at ease, all of the findings will be explained to you. This is a time for questions, if you have any. At this point, if the pediatric dentist feels that the child needs treatment completed, he will describe to you what teeth have decay and how best to go about treating them. The care taker, or parent of the child is encouraged to stay with their child throughout the treatment process. Also, some parents feel that it would be best if their child is brought to the office a number of times before the actual treatment to familiarize themselves with the environment. We would be more than happy to allow for this.

What If Treatment Is Recommended For Children With Special Needs?

At Weslaco Pediatric Dentistry & La Joya Pediatric Dentistry, we can provide oral sedation or general anesthesia for children with special needs, which will make the treatment the least traumatic. We also use nitrous gas (or laughing gas) to make the children as comfortable as possible. The dentist will also take the time to make sure that the child gets a good cleaning and that parents understand how to care for their kid’s teeth at home. By working together, the pediatric dentists and the parents or care giver can make sure that a child with special needs gets high quality dental treatment that will keep the teeth strong and healthy.