Dental Care For A Child With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Posted on: 1 December 2020
As the parent of a child with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), you'll want to ensure that your child receives the highest level of dental care, and special needs children require a special needs dentist. DMD can complicate your ability to maintain your child's dental hygiene to a high standard. Ensuring that your child's dental health isn't compromised by their condition requires some effort, which takes place both at home and at the dental practice.
DMD and Oral Health
DMD can contribute to certain oral conditions, and this is largely related to the muscles in the mouth and jaw. Your child can experience difficulty chewing and swallowing, and misalignment of their teeth can also be possible. Your dentist will look for any irregularities caused by your child's DMD, with a view to intervene and treat the issues as soon as they become evident. Just like anyone else, regular dental appointments are crucial for your child's dental health. It's also very important to give your dentist a full list of any medications that your child takes to manage their DMD. This allows them to avoid adverse drug interactions in instances when your dentist also needs to prescribe medications or administer pain relief.
At the Dental Practice
A dental practice specializing in special needs dentistry means that it's staffed by those with considerable experience managing a wide range of applicable disorders, whether they're physical, developmental, or behavioral. Accessibility is a key concern of special needs dentistry so that patients can be physically accommodated. This should include the ability to treat a patient in a wheelchair, which can sometimes be the case for those affected by DMD. When mobility is limited, a wheelchair brace should be used. This is a fixed reclining bracket, and once the wheelchair has been correctly positioned, it can be immobilized and safely tilted backward, so your child doesn't need to be physically lifted into the dentist's chair to receive the highest standard of dental care.
Care at Home
You might find that you have to undertake the majority of your child's home oral healthcare. Their impaired motor skills can mean that they might not be able to do it themselves, and you might find it easier to automate the process as much as possible by using an appropriate electric toothbrush and a water flossing device. These forms of electronic assistance don't need the same level of accuracy as a manual device, which is certainly more efficient when you're cleaning someone else's teeth.
Finding the right special needs dentist for a child with DMD can make it easier to maintain your child's oral health since the dentist will know exactly what is required, and is there to offer assistance. Contact a special needs dentist for more information.
Share