Our Practice
Special Needs Dental is a specialist private dental service established by Dr Kerrie Punshon in 2005. Our practice is dedicated to providing dental treatment to people who have special health care needs.
We see patients in a range of settings including homes, residential care facilities, some private hospitals, and our dental clinic. We aim to reduce barriers to dental treatment by providing wheelchair accessibility, sensory adaptations, and using behavioural support techniques. Sedation with nitrous oxide and general anaesthesia is available to those who need it.
We provide a wide range of services such as cleaning, fillings, simple and surgical extractions, root canal treatments and crowns and bridges. Our advanced training and experience enable us to offer treatment and care planning for complex health conditions and to work more effectively in interdisciplinary teams. Not all patients require ongoing specialist care and we can share care with general dentists where appropriate.
Our Philosophy
Our patients and their families have unique abilities, challenges and living circumstances. We believe in using a sensitive and holistic approach to understand and discuss your personal goals and needs. This enables us to develop comprehensive and practical treatment plans, and create trusted relationships to successfully provide dental care.
Our aim is to provide high quality care with a focus on prevention and advice to control oral diseases. In the long term, this reduces the need for complex treatment and the risk of pain and discomfort.
We believe that healthcare is a team effort, and collaborate regularly with medical, allied health, aged care and disability support professionals.