Management of children with special health care needs (SHCN) in the dental office

Abstract

Children represent the future of our society and ensuring their healthy growth and development ought to be a prime concern of all. The dental condition of children with special health care needs (SHCN) may be directly or indirectly related to their disabilities. Children with SHCN relatively have poor oral hygiene and increased prevalence of gingival diseases and dental caries. Unfortunately, the importance of dental care for these children has often been overlooked by the health planners. Parents of disabled children usually do not seek dental treatment as they also have the burden of medical treatment. In the past, the emphasis was based on providing basic dental care, but in recent years, the dental profession has shown increased concern in providing complete oral health care to the mentally- or physically-challenged children. The specialty of pediatric dentistry provides both primary and comprehensive, preventive and therapeutic oral health care to children with SHCN. These special children are entitled to the opportunity to achieve appropriate rehabilitation, to enable them to realize their maximal level of functioning, and to assist them in not only “normalizing” their lives but also lengthening their life span.