Dentistry for children with special needs Flashcards
what are ‘special needs’?
- umbrella term*
- Huge range of diagnoses and disabilities
Individuals who require special help or care related to their disability
In children the main causes of disability are genetic and congenital
- Adults are mainly more acquired
4. 3% of the paediatric population
who treats the teeth of children with mild disability
- GDS
- GDPs can claim for enhanced capitation fee
- Non specialist led PDS (public dental service)
- Specialist service for access to treatment planning or advanced behaviour management
who treats the teeth of children with moderate/severe disability
- Specialist led PDS
- HDS
- Shard care HDS/GDP or PDS/GDP
- Majority high caries risk so important seen 4 times a year – 2 GDP, 2 hospital
dental implications for children with special needs (5)
- Fewer teeth
- More untreated dental caries e.g. sugary medications
- Greater prevalence of periodontal disease
- E.g Down Syndrome
- Dental Fear & Anxiety
- More likely to be both dentally and medically anxious
- More barriers to delivery of dental care
- Need a scale and polish but have a compromised airway – risk of aspiration
- Bleeding tendency needs a block or extraction
5 impacts of dental disease of children with special needs
- Delayed diagnosis
- E.g. significant autism and is pre co-operative – unable to explain dental pain beyond self-harming and/or challenging behaviour and unexplained change in eating, drinking and sleeping habits
- Delayed management
- Direct result of delayed diagnosis
- Additional time required to acclimatize and upskill a child to accept dental Tx
- Need to be on waiting list for GA
- More multidisciplinary planning
- E.g. leukaemia or congenital heart disease
- Greater risk of pain/sepsis if optimal preventative care is not present
- Reduce quality of life may already be compromised
NEED TO ACCESS EFFECTIVE EFFICIENT PREVENTION – both pt and carer
what prinicples should paediatric dentist consider when treating children esp children with special needs
Principles of GIRFEC and liaising with other healthcare teams is essential to optimise care for children with special needs
- What is getting in the way of this child’s wellbeing? Education?
- Do I have everything I need to help this child or young person?
- What can I do now to help this child or young person?
- What can my agency/profession do to help this child or young person?
- Car parking – ensure they have access to reserved disabled space to reduce stress
- What additional help, if any, may be needed from others?
prevention for children with special needs has 4 points to cover
- Ensuring regular dental visits
- Provision of good mouth care
- Safe eating and drinking habits
- High Caries Risk?
- Esp if cardiac condition – get decay à high risk mortality
SDCEP guidance – preventative care, minimally invasive approach and when not (e.g. cardiac conditions need to have no decay – parents understand link with IE so they are on board with their child attending regularly and optimal preventive care)
dental aims for children with special needs
prevention
Support with normal oral function
- Eating
- Speech development
- Promote self esteem
- Maintain good appearance
- Confidence to smile
Saliva/drooling control
why is it important to support children dentally to have normally oral function (e.g. eat and speech development) esp special needs
Reassure parents with children who have particular eating or speech development issues
importance of dental care to promote self esteem
esp in special needs
- Important as special needs children may already be aware of their differences compared to peers*
- Most children (regardless if special needs or not) wish to be happy with their appearance and smile*
4reasons why important of dealing with saliva/drooling
- Social embarrassment
- Parental upset
- Skin irritation
- Aspiration risk
- Can be cause of severe recurring chest infections
3 methods of saliva/drooling management for children with special needs
- SLT speech and language team - ensure saliva level ok to prevent caries
- Improve lip seal
- Improve swallow
- Pharmacology
- Scopolamine/hyoscine path
- Botox injection
- Surgical
how to tackle barriers to regular dental attendance, mouth care, dietary habits
in general be aware of the multitude of barriers and manage them in a collaborative, empathetuc and problem-solving way
e.g. barrier to regular dental attendance for children with special needs
- other apointments
- challenging behaviour/anxiety
- parking/access
- frequent illness
- parental attitudes
be empathetic and supportive as well as collaborative and help plan solutions
e.g. barriers to mouth care for children with special needs
- manual dexterity issues (CP in child, and parent)
- involuntary movements (CP in child -> anxiety in parent)
- oral aversion/nil by mouth pts
- parent aversion to bodily fluids
- gag reflex issues/ high aspiration risk pts -> parents unable to access
- challenging behaviour (CAMHS) -> parent exhaustion
- sensory issues / not a priorty for parent/lacks time
take time to acclimatise and educate both child and parent on OH regimes and empathise with them and support them in their journey of building into their routine
collaborate with them and other services
e.g. barriers to dietary changes for children with special needs
- atypical food clearance (musculoskeletal problem, CF)
- food holding/regurgitation
- restricted/limited diet
- pureed foods
- fortified foods
- surgary medicines
- food treats as rewards
Collaborate, empathise, don’t judge, support, understand
Consider additional mouth care
- Consider 2800 ppm paste (10+)
Set achievable realistic goals
Work with other healthcare professionals
4 broad grousp of distability
physical
medical
sensory
mental
e.g. physical disabilties
cerebral palsy
spina bifida
muscular dystrophy
e.g. medical disabilities
cardiac defect
oncology
bleeding disorders (haemophilia, von Willibrand)
e.g. sensory disabilities
blind
deaf
ASD
e.g. mental disabilities
impairent learning ability
ASD
ASD
autism spectrum disorder
cerebral palsy prevalence in children
most common physical disability in childhood (1-2 per 1000)
cause of CP
occurs from brain damage before, during or shortly after birth
affects of CP
movement and posture
may also have visual, hearing, learning, speech problems and epilepsy
types of CP
many
spastic (50%)
- monoplegic - only one limb
- paraplegic - lower extremities
- hemiplegic - one upper and one lower limb on same side
- double hemiplegic - all limbs but mainly arms
- diplegic - all limbs but mainly legs
- quadriplegic - all limbs equally
Athetoid (15-20%)
- athetosis
- chorea
- chreoathetosis
Ataxic (10%)
- rigid
- mixed
dental features and considerations for CP
- Poor oral hygiene
- Gingival hyperplasia
- Esp epilepsy medication
- Enamel hypoplasia
- Bruxism
- Malocclusion
- Dental trauma
- Drooling/saliva
- Access
- Uncontrollable movements
- Enhanced gag reflex
OH issues for CP
- Can be hard for them to brush their teeth themselves – movement*
- Can modify toothbrushes*
- Impressions o hands so easier grip on brush*
bruxism in children
Common in children
- Daytime habit for special needs whereas night-time habit for children without special needs
Not directly managed – do not tolerate wearing mouth guards/BRA
Parental assurance needed – TMJ pain in pre-teens very uncommon
CP malocclusion caused by
Related to the influences on growth by atypical head posture and altered neuromuscular control of cheeks, tongue and lips
dental trauma and CP
Increased risk of falls in the ambulant child
- Reduced ability to use their upper limbs to protect their face in a fall
- More likely to have a poor lip seal and a class II incisor relationship
Non-abulant child also increased
- Falls out of wheelchair
- Being transferred in and out of chair, bath, bed etc
drooling/saliva in CP
Often have a head forward posture – important to treat and teach oral hygiene in this position as it means they don’t swallow their own saliva and end up with aspirations