Dental problems are common among many people with functional diversity. For this reason, oral health care for these people is a challenge that requires preventive measures, specific technical knowledge, special sensitivity, and the involvement of families and caregivers in treatments and the development of hygiene habits.

As we saw in a previous article, people with functional diversity often suffer from oral health problems. These are mainly due to the difficulty in developing and maintaining regular oral hygiene habits and cariogenic diets, which is often the cause of disorders such as tooth decay, gingivitis, periodontitis or halitosis or bad breath.

For this reason, it is very important for these people to have regular oral health care from an early age in terms of dental fillings in cases of cavities, dental cleaning or scaling and root planing. The scaling and root planing technique is used to remove tartar, bacterial plaque and pigmentation, as well as other organic deposits found on the tooth surface, both at the supragingival level (on the tooth and above the gum), and at the subgingival level (on the tooth and inside the gum).

The main difference between these procedures is the level of possible discomfort caused to patients. While dental cleaning is performed on the dental neck, interdental spaces and the gum line; scaling and root planing is carried out on the inner part of the periodontium, below the gum line, and often requires the use of local anesthesia to carry out this procedure.

It is also common that we find ourselves faced with the need to install prostheses, due to the premature loss of teeth; or the correction of malocclusions derived from poor development of the facial mass, as we often find in people with Down Syndrome, in whom bone growth is also limited by low muscle tone.

The necessary specialisation in care

Naturally, carrying out these treatments on people with functional diversity is often particularly complex. We often encounter episodes of anxiety due to the difficulty in understanding the need for the procedure, and/or difficulties with limited mobility that make the dentist’s work more challenging.

Whether it is ignorance of their specific needs or fear of causing harm to patients, too often we find dentists opt for extreme solutions such as tooth extractions when there are still conservative alternatives that would allow patients to keep their own teeth.

It is also common to find ourselves in situations in which professionals do not have the knowledge or resources to face and manage situations such as rejection, anxiety or seizure. These often lead to rejection by professionals and referrals to other medical specialties that do not guarantee these people will receive the care they deserve.

Two key elements: sensitivity and creativity

For these reasons, at Lura Care we claim that the care of these people must be carried out undertaking two inalienable commitments: specialized technical knowledge for the adequate therapeutic approach to ailments, and a special sensitivity to understand and manage the complexities of the necessary interventions.

By including family members and caregivers in treatments, providing new solutions to problems and being creative in developing conservative treatments that preserve natural teeth as much as possible, are key elements to guarantee the optimal oral health care that people with functional diversity deserve.

Prevention and education for good oral health

It is also essential to develop specific prevention and education programmes in hygiene and oral health aimed at these groups which must have the involvement of families and caregivers.  Without them, it will not be possible to create the necessary habits on behalf of the patients.

Although the oral care of these people has experienced some improvement over recent years, there is still a lot of work to be done. At Lura Care we are committed to put all our efforts in the development of specialised oral health care, and into ensuring that all people with functional diversity enjoy the universal right to a healthy smile.