Special Needs: Interdisciplinary care, dental training and curriculum building

Presenter: Tiffany McPheeters – School of Dentistry Department of Comprehensive Dentistry

Disabled and medically compromised patients are at an increased risk of having poor oral health, and suffering through mouth pain due to the lack of training among dentist and absence of an interdisciplinary approach to care. Curriculum building, facility design, and multi provider communication can help bridge the gap to creating a more effective and efficient approach to dental care for special needs patients. Changes are needed within policies and dental schools to ensure providers are competent and able to treat more special needs patients.