Volume 9 • 2022 • Issue 2

Caring for Patients with Special Needs is Close to My Heart Dr. Richard Holden wrote in his recent President’s Column 1 about the challenges facing the profession regarding access to care for adults and children with special health care needs. It’s obviously an issue very close to his heart, as it is to mine. As well, in the past few months, CDA has released resources 2 to help dentists determine the complexity of care needed by individuals in this population and to help smoothly transition individuals from one dental practice to another. I have experienced some of these challenges in my own family because I have two brothers with developmental disabilities. While there are many reasons to believe that positive change is possible, we must also acknowledge that for those who are mentally and/or physically challenged, there are serious obstacles to good oral health. Our parents faced these very obstacles, just like thousands of families across the country. For most children, oral health starts early with brushing— and hopefully flossing—assistance from a parent, until they slowly acquire these skills themselves. Before the introduction of fluoride in our drinking water, topical fluoride, and fluoride toothpaste, rates of caries and periodontal disease were fairly high in Canada, due to the usual culprits: inadequate brushing, lack of flossing and poor diet. As a dentist, I’m very proud of the improvements that have been made in oral health education, prevention and treatment in the last half century. The progress has been extraordinary and the oral health of much of the Canadian population is better now than it was in decades past. Despite these advances, some people are left behind. I remember our father trying his best to help my brothers brush their teeth. It was very difficult and he put in a great deal of effort. One brother, after brushing, would throw his toothbrush down the toilet. Our father, a patient man, often had to repair it. Not exactly routine oral health care. My family was lucky to have an understanding and dedicated dentist when my brothers were children who was able to do the repair work that their teeth required. Many other children like my brothers were simply referred to hospital clinics or practices that offered sedation. Unfortunately, this only meets some of this population’s needs. Families who have children or adults with special health care needs at home face many complex, and often costly, difficulties and work hard to address a variety of problems, of which oral health care is only one. Dr. RonMarkey 17 Issue 2 | 2022 | News and Events