Assessments and Interdisciplinary Care
Understandably, dental health concerns can be overlooked when you have a major health difficulty. Looking after your teeth and accessing dental services can be more challenging. However, dental problems that worsen over time can lead to serious oral and general health issues. When this happens it can be difficult to decide what to do.
By having an oral health assessment and preventive care plan put in place early, you can reduce the risk of major dental disease. This can save you a lot of pain, stress, time and money.
Assessment services
Special Needs Dental offers comprehensive oral health assessments for a range of purposes, such as:
- before starting a bone-modifying drug;
- before heart surgery, joint replacements or transplant surgery;
- before radiotherapy, chemotherapy or immunotherapy;
- when a person enters an aged care facility;
- when a person is transitioning between hospital and community care; after a major brain or spinal cord injury;
- after being diagnosed with dementia or a progressive neurological disease;
- planning for NDIS supports.
Our service provides advice on short and long term management that takes into account your disability or health condition. Our specialists have the knowledge and experience to guide you through any difficult decisions.
We offer regular reviews to ensure that your oral health isn’t overlooked as your circumstances change.
Interdisciplinary management and care co-ordination
Sometimes it takes a team to keep your teeth healthy. You may need help to arrange your dental visits or to brush your teeth. A dietician can give you advice on food choices to reduce your risk of decay while maintaining a healthy weight. At times, we need to work with doctors to plan medical and dental treatment safely. Speech pathologists, nurses, psychologists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists can all play a role in oral health care.
At Special Needs Dental, we routinely provide recommendations to aged care and disability support professionals for oral care and behaviour support plans. We can also arrange oral health education sessions to family members and carers that are tailored to your individual needs.
Where necessary, we provide reports to your medical practitioners to keep them up-to-date on your oral health. We may also liaise with other professionals to monitor your oral health and hygiene, so that you are referred to a dentist in a timely manner when there is a problem.
Co-consultations with other health and support practitioners can be arranged at our clinic, through our mobile dental service, or via teledentistry.
You do not need to have all of your dental care with our service. We are open to discussing options for care outside of our clinic, including treatment with your general dentist, or in the public sector. Our primary concern is helping you get the treatment that you need.