My child has special needs. Is dental care important for their overall health?

Proper oral hygiene along with regular visits to the dentist is critical to overall health, especially for children who have special needs.

Families with children can understand how difficult it may be to get their kids excited about brushing and taking care of their teeth. But if you have children with developmental impairments, getting them to brush and care for their teeth every day, or to even visit the dentist, can feel overwhelming, scary and nearly impossible. Children with cognitive, developmental, emotional, physical or medical conditions may experience heightened anxiety, hypersensitivity  or discomfort when it comes to dental care, even at home. Taking care of the unique needs of kids with special conditions requires patience, understanding, compassion and lots of love.

At Dr. Cajee’s dental office in Manteca, we are so excited and proud to specialize in care for children with special needs. Children with special needs who need special care see our wonderful, caring doctor Dr. Yara Abdelnabi. Dr Yara is specially trained in different pediatric dentistry behavioral techniques to help your child feel as comfortable as possible. 

It’s important to start as early as possible to set the foundation for lifelong oral health. Here’s why.

Dental care for kids with special needs

It's not easy getting any kid to the dentist, let alone a child with special needs that has a physical or developmental impairment.  Some parents may even shrug off the idea of having to take them in because they assume it’s only baby teeth they will fall out anyways, no sense of making my child go through stress or uncomfortableness. 

But in fact, having your child be seen at a very early age, even as early as 1 year old, is essential to their overall health. Preventive dentistry helps stop health problems from occurring before they even start. Instead of waiting for an issue to pop up, preventive dentistry is the best option for kids with special needs. It will help your little ones avoid discomfort from things like cavities, and it also means fewer costs and dentist appointments down the line.