Caring For Special Needs

Special Needs Patients

For several years now, our office has been treating a large portion of the Santa Barbara special needs population. Our office makes every attempt to provide the same standard of dental care for patients with special needs as we do for our general population. Our priority is to be as effective as possible while maintaining the most optimal comfort for each patient. Treatment decisions will be determined based on each patient’s unique needs and ability to tolerate and maintain the prescribed treatment. Certain limitations inherently exist when treating some patients with special needs.

Our primary concern is the health and safety of all involved individuals. This includes the medical, dental, physical, and mental/psychological health and safety of the patient, the dental staff, and any added support people.

For each patient an oral health care plan is developed. These plans are dynamic and can evolve as the patients overall well-being and oral health change.

If standard of care dentistry cannot be performed routinely due to behavioral issues, oral sedation or IV sedation will be advised. Our office does not use physical restraint devices and will only use physical restraint when immediate safety of any person is in jeopardy.

About IV Sedation:

Our office uses Dr. Yvonne Rochon, a licensed and board-certified dental anesthesiologist for general anesthesia. We have been a team for several years now and find the procedure to be safe and effective. It is also time- and cost-efficient as compared to the hospital setting. We have a large treatment room which facilitates several assistants, and the anesthesiologist’s equipment.

Hillside House

We are actively involved with the Hillside House, an intermediate care facility for the developmentally disabled in Santa Barbara, CA. This wonderful non-profit organization and facility offers many activities on their campus and in the community. They provide 24-hour nursing care and range of therapeutic programs in a family-like environment. The age of residents range from early 20s to mid-80s. To learn more about Hillside House and their mission, please visit: http://www.hillsidehousesb.org/.

For more information, please call (805) 569-0716.