Patients who have special needs face certain challenges when it comes to dental healthcare. When it comes time for a visit to a local oral surgeon, some special needs patients have difficulty sitting through the procedure. Whether their difficulty cooperating is due to a lack of communication skills, sensitivities to sensory stimuli, or behavioral challenges, it makes it tough for patients with special needs to understand what’s going on or remain still.
Repeated negative experiences can lead to a complete avoidance of dental care and an increased chance of oral health problems. Oral sedation used in dentistry makes sitting through a procedure much more accessible by calming nerves and allows special needs patients to get the care from a licensed dental surgeon that they need.
Understanding Special Needs in Mouth Surgery
Sedatives administered in oral surgeries can be a huge help for patients presenting with special needs. But first, we have to understand a few of the more common conditions and how they impact a patient’s ability to visit their oral dental doctor. The following are just a small selection of conditions that may make it difficult for a patient to sit still when in the chair:
- Autism Spectrum Disorder – Autism exists on a spectrum, and patients with the condition may or may not be struck with sensory overload, communication challenges, and anxiety in unfamiliar or new situations.
- Intellectual disabilities – patients with intellectual disabilities may have a limited understanding of the dental surgery being performed and can possibly exhibit behavioral challenges as a result like biting or kicking.
- Sensory processing disorders – patients who have sensory processing disorders might be exceedingly sensitive to sounds, tastes, smells, or sight. This sometimes makes it hard for even experienced dental surgeons to operate safely. On the flip side, a patient with a sensory processing disorder can also be under-responsive and might not be able to let their oral surgeon know if they’re in pain.
Oral Surgery Sedative Options for Special Needs Patients
Sedatives used with mouth operations are a safe, effective option that rarely involves actually putting a patient “under.” Most sedation methods in dental surgeries either numb the patient to pain in the operation area or have them drifting in and out of consciousness, unaware of what’s going on around them. The following are the most common methods of sedation in oral surgery:
- Oral sedation – Medication taken before oral surgery to sedate a patient. These are typically medications that help with anxiety and fearfulness. Can also involve medication that numbs a specific area around the mouth.
- Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) – This is an oral surgery sedative that’s most commonly used in patients whose special needs present with intense anxiety or fear around the situation they’re in. Laughing gas makes them way less nervous and much easier to work with. The patient is conscious during the whole operation.
- IV sedation – This method is what produces “twilight” sedation. It’s a type of anesthesia used in oral surgeries which keeps the patient conscious enough to listen to directions from their dental surgeon, but they’re fully relaxed.
- General Anesthesia – Most people think of this when they think of any kind of sedative. General anesthesia keeps the patient fully unconscious during the surgery. This is only used in rare cases where the patient doesn’t cooperate at all.
The kind of dental surgery anesthetic that’s used on the patient depends on their unique circumstances like how much their condition inhibits operation or how complex the procedure is. More involved operations like having all four wisdom teeth extracted requires IV sedation, but simple procedures might only need nitrous oxide for quick oral surgeries.
Individual needs vary greatly in patients with special needs. For example, even if a patient comes in for something as easy as a filling, they might need to have an intravenous sedative used in dental operations administered if they have behavioral issues and are prone to kicking or biting.
Benefits of Oral Surgery Anesthetics in Special Needs Patients
Oral surgery sedation methods are incredibly effective at calming patients with special needs and allows the dental surgeon performing the mouth operation to get the job done. They improve patient cooperation drastically and reduce anxiety and fear. Because of sedatives, patients with special needs are able to get the care that they deserve, not to mention it increases comfort and safety for both parties involved. An oral surgeon local to the area can discuss exactly what sedatives could be beneficial in a given situation. After all, their biggest goal is to ensure the patient has a successful experience and is cared for properly.
With the right approach and effective oral sedation options, folks with special needs can receive the top-notch dental care that they deserve.
