Many dentists have limited or no experience working with Alzheimer’s patients or other patients with special needs. Dentistry is a vast field and there are many areas of specialization, both in terms of dental treatments and the patients that dentists can best serve.

The Blende Dental Group has spent more then twenty years providing high quality dental care to a wide range of people with special needs, including those coping with Alzheimer’s disease. Our extensive medical knowledge about various diseases combined with our vast experience in the field has enabled us to treat patients who are otherwise not well served by traditional dentistry methods.

Alzheimer’s Dentist

An Alzheimer’s dentist offers two basic benefits for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia: working knowledge about the disease and experience treating patients who have it.

Alzheimer’s is a degenerative disease, which can cause confusion, moodiness, and aggressive behavior. Difficulty with language and communication and memory loss are common symptoms. It is a difficult disease to cope with – for the patient and his or her loved ones – and for professionals responsible for providing health services, including medical and dental treatments.

Understanding Alzheimer’s disease is essential for medical professionals and caretakers who work with people that have the disease. These professionals are best equipped to help Alzheimer’s patients when they have a clear understanding of the symptoms, especially the behavioral symptoms, as well as knowledge about medicines and treatments that doctors usually provide and prescribe to patients with Alzheimer’s.

A textbook knowledge of Alzheimer’s is essential but even better is real-world experience working with and treating these patients. An Alzheimer’s dentist has hands-on experience providing dental care to such patients and offers patience and compassion when working with them.

Sedation Dentistry for Alzheimer’s Patients

The Blende Dental Group has become a renowned leader in sleep and sedation dentistry. We utilize modern medications that provide sedation for patients allow them to relax or sleep through dental procedures. For special needs patients, including those with Alzheimer’s, sedation has been proven extremely beneficial for the patients’ health and overall well-being.

Many patients with special needs are easily confused, have difficulty sitting still or trouble dealing with the stress and unfamiliarity of a dentist’s visit. For these patients, sedation provides painless, stress-free access to optimum dental health.

One of our most recognized dentistry methods is our One-Sleep-Visit™ total dentistry method, in which we can perform a large amount of dental work in a single visit that takes place in a hospital while the patient is under sleep sedation. This method has made complex dental procedures accessible to special needs patients who find it difficult or impossible to sit in the dentist’s chair for a single visit, let alone numerous visits over time.

The Blende Dental Group’s Alzheimer’s Dentist

According to the CDC, autism affects approximately 1 in 150 children. Autism is defined as a neurological developmental disorder that impairs social interaction, cognition, and communication. Behavioral symptoms of autism include restrictive interests and repetition in behaviors or actions. Some autistic patients are also hyperactive.

Because autistic children find it difficult to understand the world around them and communicate clearly or effectively, they require special care, and that includes their dental care.

An autism dentist who is knowledgeable about the effects of autism on a person’s thinking and behavior can provide the best care and dental treatments, which are specially tailored for autistic patients.

Autism Dentist

Many people with autism rely on a strict routine. Since a trip to the dentist breaks the daily structure and because the dentist’s office is a strange environment with unfamiliar people, autistic patients are likely to find the entire experience terrifying and confusing.

Dentists who are not familiar with the effects of autism may not be able to effectively treat these patients using traditional dentistry methods. Autistic patients benefit greatly from working with a dentist who is familiar with their specific challenges and needs.

An autism dentist fully understands autism and the special challenges that autistic people face. Such a dentist will be aware of the treatments and medications that are prescribed to autistic patients and will have knowledge and experience working with the autistic behaviors.

Sedation Dentistry

Some people with autism experience extreme oral sensitivity. Others are highly hyperactive. This makes dental treatments, even basic exams, difficult. In some cases, traditional dentistry methods may not be possible for patients with autism since hyperactivity while in a dentist’s chair compromises a patient’s safety and some autistic patients may not be able to endure standard procedures due to sensitivity.

Many autistic children benefit from sedation dentistry, which is used to help patients relax or sleep through treatments. This ensures dental health and protects the safety of the patient.

The Blende Dental Group

The Blende Dental Group has been working with special needs patients, including those with autism, for over 20 years. In fact, our entire practice was built to ensure that people with unique mental and physical challenges would have access to quality dental care and optimum oral health.

To learn more about the Blende Dental Group’s work with special needs and autistic patients or to schedule an appointment with an autism dentist, please call 1.800.575.3375 or visit our contact page to send us a message.

Proper Dental Care

Proper dental care is vital for older patients.

We all know that seniors need special care – regular doctor appointments are necessary to ensure the best health possible, and medical care for seniors usually focuses on the body’s vital functions. Too often, dental health is pushed to the wayside.

It’s understandable. After all, older adults and their loved ones are often dealing with fixed incomes and an array of health needs, including a host of medications and regular check-ups with doctors and specialists.

But dental health is vital to a person’s overall good health, especially for seniors. Healthy teeth and gums contribute to one’s ability to speak, enjoy food and conversation, and to facilitate digestion and the distribution of nutrients throughout the body. These functions are especially imperative for the older adult.

It is common or people over 50 to have periodontal (gum) disease and tooth decay (cavities). Studies show that 25% of Americans over the age of 65 have lost all their teeth. But tooth loss can be prevented with proper dental care and regular visits to the dentist.

Put simply, the older you get, the more important dental health becomes. That’s why it’s crucial for older adults to seek the right dentist.

Dentist for Seniors

A dentist for seniors specializes in the changing needs of an aging adult.

As we get older, we usually need to take more medications. These may help control or balance cholesterol, blood pressure, or the heart. Medicine also helps older adults manage arthritis and digestive problems.

It’s imperative that a dentist understands medications that are commonly used for health issues that affect seniors. Various medications can cause conflicts if the dentist isn’t prepared and knowledgeable about the interactive effects of medications used in dentistry combined with medications frequently used by aging adults. Many medications also cause chronic dry mouth (xerostomia) that can lead to rapidly progressing tooth decay if not treated promptly.

In addition to understanding medications, a dentist for seniors will be aware of other common challenges that seniors face. Stiff muscles make lying in the dentist’s chair uncomfortable. Many seniors have limited mobility, making it hard for them to get to the dentist’s office and into the chair. Some struggle with diseases that affect aging adults, such as Alzheimer’s disease or other types of dementia.

A dentist for seniors is sensitive to the wide range of challenges that aging adults are facing and works closely with patients to ensure the best dental health and the best care possible. That includes sensitivity to a patient’s age-specific needs.

Dentist for Elderly Patients

Providing dental care for elderly patients is our specialty.

As we get older, we need a dentist that specializes in the ever-changing needs of the human body, and it’s essential that we include dental health in our overall health care regimen. For seniors, proper dental care is more important than ever, since the health of our teeth and gums affects the health of our entire bodies.

The last thing you need to worry about is your loved one’s dental care.

It should be simple. Regular check-ups are standard, right? Every six months, you get your teeth cleaned, maybe some x-rays taken, and you and your dentist stay on top of your dental health to prevent real problems from arising.

Special Needs Dental Patients

But when you’re caring for someone who has special needs, things like oral hygiene can fall by the wayside. Dealing with the challenges of daily life is difficult enough. Medicine. Food. Physical challenges. Emotional needs. All of these are draining and time-consuming, and most days, you’re grateful to get the bare minimum done.

Meanwhile, that trip to the dentist? You figure that can wait. Maybe it’s too difficult to get to the dentist’s office. Perhaps there are physical limitations that make it impossible to travel or emotional fears that are just too hard to face. It’s easier to just postpone making that appointment. Healthy meals and a good brushing will have to do for now. After all, how important can a dental cleaning be?

That cleaning you’re putting off is very important. In fact, good oral hygiene is vital. Bacteria from gum disease can get into the blood stream and aggravate other illnesses, putting people with already-fragile health at greater risk. You may think that strong teeth are at the bottom of the priority list, but in fact, they should be at the top.

Special Needs Dentist

This is why special needs patients benefit greatly from a special needs dentist, one who is committed to helping people with challenges get the dental care that they need.

What, exactly, is a special needs dentist? For starters, dentists like the ones here at the Blende Dental Group appreciate the difficulties that our patients face every day, and are willing to take the time to make patients’ visits comfortable. We take extra care in our work to make the experience as easy and painless as possible.

We start with the understanding that patients with special needs deserve the same care as any other patient. But we also recognize that they do not always have access to it. Some are too afraid to come to the office. Others have physical limitations that make a standard dentist’s chair too uncomfortable. They might be confined to a wheelchair. Special needs dental patients may have an illness like Alzheimer’s or Down’s Syndrome, which makes it impossible for them to sit still long enough to have any dental work done. Patients who are autistic as well as abuse victims or individuals who suffer from PTSD cannot tolerate having anything inserted into their mouths.

A special needs dentist takes all of this into consideration and puts the patients’ personal circumstances first and foremost. For example, the Blende Dental Group’s offices are friendly and accessible, and we go through extra training to help us give our special needs dental patients exactly what they need: excellent care plus the patience and respect they deserve.

Our patients’ needs are as special as they are, which is why they deserve a special dentist, too.

When seeking a special needs dentist, be sure to ask about their experience with issues that are relevant for your loved one, such as existing medical conditions, complex dental conditions (problems with tooth eruption, malocclusion, developmental defects, grinding, etc.), medications that may cause dry mouth, neuromuscular problems that affect the mouth (gagging, swallowing), uncontrolled body movements, seizures, cardiac disorders, gastroesophogeal reflux, compromised immune system, latex allergies, mental capabilities, behavior problems, communication techniques, visual impairments, hearing loss, food pouching, mouth breathing, tongue thrusting, and risk for aspiration. Additional considerations should be made for people who are afraid of the dentist, as one in seven Americans are.

Most patients with special needs will require sedation in order to receive treatment. Options range from nitrous oxide, to oral sedatives (pills), to I.V. sedation to general anesthesia. Most general dentists are only able to offer limited treatments or limited sedation; however, it is important for patients and caretakers to investigate options and not to settle for the minimum level of care. A special needs dentist is more likely to be experienced in providing treatment that utilizes a variety of sedation techniques.

This disastrous condition is the result of one or more of the following reasons: 1) the person’s forgetfulness results in unintentional dental neglect; 2) cardiac, antidepressant and other medications, as well as advanced age, can cause chronic “dry-mouth” (reduction of the healthy flow of saliva) and an increase in decay; 3) dental needs are forgotten, or problems go unnoticed, as they are hidden by the lips; and/or 4) people often lose contact with their dentist during this period because they are focused on other issues.

Discomfort from neglected and decaying teeth can lead to pain and unmanageable behavior, and result in extensive, costly dental treatment. Good dental health can make eating and digesting food easier and improve a person’s overall quality of life. Assisting your loved one with brushing and flossing can be a daunting task. Here are some tips:

1. Brushing teeth – twice a day

• Use a brush with a “small” head so the back teeth can be reached and with soft bristles which are gentler for the gums.
• If a vibrating sensation can be tolerated, a “Sonicare”-type toothbrush can be used.
• Larger-handled brushes are typically easier to use. A tennis ball can be helpful in adapting a toothbrush to have a larger, easier to use handle.
• Toothpaste is not necessary and omitting it may be more comfortable.
• Ask a dentist about using a fluoride gel or rinse to keep the tooth enamel strong.

2. Flossing teeth – once a day

• It can be easier for the person to use a floss holder or for the caregiver helping him or her with flossing to use a floss holder.
• An inter-tooth cleaner such as a small “proxy brush”, a tiny little brush with anti-microbial solution on it that can fit between the teeth and gums, is a good alternative for assisting people who keep their teeth clenched.
• Ask a dentist about using an anti-microbial solution like Peridex to protect the gums.

3. Cleaning dentures: Remove and clean the dentures after every meal. Use a toothbrush with soft bristles to gently brush the gums and roof of the mouth.

4. Visually inspect the person’s teeth and gums at least once a month. Work with an Alzheimer’s dentist, a professional dental care practitioner who specializes in working with Alzheimer’s patients, to know which spots to watch. If the tissue appears dry, swollen or red, contact the dentist.

5. Maintain an updated list of the person’s medications for all doctors and healthcare workers, and ask an experienced Alzheimer’s dentist which medications on the list cause xerostomia, or dry mouth.

6. Visit the dentist for an exam and cleaning: upon diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and then every six months.

Additional signs that your loved one may need to see a dentist include refusal to eat, chewing appears painful or difficult or bad breath.

If the person is unable to cooperate, comprehend or comply, the Alzheimer’s Association in your area should be able to help you find an Alzheimer’s dentist who can treat them.