Stumbling into the Age of Evidence
This article presents personal observations on how the concept of evidence-based dentistry is faring in the profession. It considers how the dental profession’s concept of evidence has matured, how evidence-based…
Home Oral Health Practice: The Foundation for Desensitization and Dental Care for Special Needs
As oral health is increasingly recognized as a foundation for health and wellness, caregivers for special needs patients are an essential component of the oral health team and must become…
Evaluation, Scheduling, and Management of Dental Care Under General Anesthesia for Special Needs Patients
Dental care in the operating room requires expertise to be efficient, effective, and comprehensive. By gathering appropriate information preoperatively, intraoperatively, and postoperatively, the dentist can assume the leadership role that…
Treatment of Mentally Disabled Patients with Intravenous Sedation in a Dental Clinic Outpatient Setting
Treating the special care patient is challenging for the treating dentist and dentist anesthesiologist. The goal is to have a patient free of disease and pain restored with aesthetic and…
Behavioral Management for Patients with Intellectual and Developmental Disorders
Intellectual and developmental disorders can severely impair a patient’s ability to communicate and socialize. Individuals with such disorders tend to have unusual ways of learning, paying attention, and reacting to…
HIV: Medical Milestones and Clinical Challenges
Since its discovery in the 1980s, HIV has infected every continent on the globe by crossing socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, and gender barriers, and it continues to contribute to human morbidity…
Oral Self-Injurious Behaviors in Patients with Developmental Disabilities
Self-injurious behaviors (SIB) in patients who have developmental disabilities is a complex disorder, and its underlying etiologies are poorly understood. SIB is a significant factor in hospitalizations, decisions to use…
Minimal and Moderate Oral Sedation in the Adult Special Needs Patient
Oral minimal/moderate sedation can be an effective tool to aid in the dental management of adult special needs patients. Specific sedative drugs must be chosen by the dentist that can…
Oral Health Burden in Children with Systemic Diseases
Children who have systemic diseases face a burden of disease distinctly greater than their healthy counterparts. Neglect or delay of addressing this burden can lead not only to significant morbidity…
Dental Management of Special Needs Patients Who Have Epilepsy
Patients who have developmental disabilities and epilepsy can be safely treated in a general dental practice. A thorough medical history should be taken and updated at every visit. A good…
