CE: Providing Dental Care for Children and Adults with Developmental Disabilities

Please note the location! 

Light snacks will be served. 

Dental office visits can be a major challenge for someone who has had trauma around medical appointments, has sensory integration or processing issues, lack of speech, or complex health needs. Often people are seen in the hospital using a general anesthetic for dental treatment. Creating a relationship with a dental office and creating the expectation for safe, effective, and consistent daily mouth care is an important step in preventing and treating oral disease.

Recognize techniques and the timeline required to assist in preparing a person to visit the dental office

Identify situations that can trigger reactive behaviours and strategies to help minimize these behaviours at the dental office

Outline the challenges of oral health care and dental office visits for people with complex health needs 

Summarize funding and community resources available to meet oral health needs

Bios:

Kayla Ragosin-Miller is a dental hygiene graduate from the University of Manitoba.  As the hygienist at BC Children’s Hospital she is currently involved in the research and development of helping children on the Autism spectrum accept dental treatment in the dental office without the use of general anesthetic.   10 years ago she developed the Dental Intervention Program for children with Autism and related disorders, this program has been highly successful landing her the nickname “The Autism Lady of Dentistry”.   In 2011 she was recognized by Johnson and Johnson with a Dental Hygiene Superhero award for her dedication working with this clientele and in 2016 she was awarded the The Dental Hygienist Making a Difference award from BCDHA.  She is also a part time instructor and works in private practice.

Dawn Moon has over 24 years’ experience working as a dental hygienist. The last 7 years working primarily with adults with developmental disabilities in the community setting on the Health Services for Community Living team at Island Health. Her focus has been on creating oral care guidelines for adults with dysphagia and strategies to help people attain dental care in the community. She continues to advocate for better solutions for adults facing challenges accessing dental treatment.