A few months ago — before our lives were upended by COVID-19 — the School of Dentistry hosted a summit on special needs dentistry. We were excited to convene great minds from dentistry, medicine, higher education, government and beyond, exploring issues and solutions.
The overarching issue, of course, is access to care. Under normal circumstances, most of us take for granted the ability to see a dentist for a routine cleaning, to have a tooth restored, or even more complex treatment.
But for some, there is nothing routine about the bright lights, strange sounds and occasional discomfort associated with a dental exam. For some, merely sitting in the chair is a hardship or a hazard. For many of these patients, dental care is an elusive thing. It can take years for a child requiring special-needs anesthesia dentistry to get an appointment.
And as you know, without regular care, small problems ultimately balloon into severe ones. A standard procedure becomes emergency treatment. Moreover, neglecting dental care can significantly impact overall health, especially in medically complex situations.
Patients with special needs, and their families, know this all too well. One of our guests, Frankie Larocca — joined by our Dr. Ray Stewart, division chair, Pediatric Dentistry — shared how her family grapples with these issues in caring for her daughter.
Another guest, Dr. Ronald Kosinski of NYU’s College of Dentistry, shared what his institution is doing on this front. The Oral Health Center for People with Disabilities addresses some of the physical obstacles to treatment.
NYU’s center is but one approach that California could pursue. This is a complex problem; solutions similarly will be multifaceted. Progress will require changes not just in our exam rooms, but in our classrooms. There must be a fundamental shift in our institutions and our public agencies. Professors will need to step up — and so will legislators.
We convened a diverse group in order to benefit from diverse perspectives. Everyone in attendance brought expertise, insight and ideas that will lead us to solutions. Even in the face of a pandemic, we are taking the ideas and insights that the summit spawned, and crafting strategies for real improvement.
Because everybody deserves access to care.
