Empowering Smiles: How Sedation Dentistry Supports Special Needs Patients

Many people think of sedation dentistry as medication to help you relax during dental procedures. Although that’s true, sedation dentistry can be much more than that for patients with special needs. 

Heather M. Wilmore, DDS, and her team offer comprehensive dental care for special needs patients at every age and stage of life at her private general dentistry practice in Houston, Texas. 

We believe that differences make you special, and we work with our special needs patients so they experience a calm, relaxing, and stress-free dental experience to ensure a healthy smile. Here, we cover the different ways that sedation dentistry supports special needs patients. 

Creating a calming atmosphere 

A recent national survey showed that about 38% of people with disabilities have poor or fair oral health versus 23% of those who don’t have special needs. This difference may occur for many reasons, but one of the main concerns is that many people with special needs find dental offices stressful. 

The sounds, the lights, and the general hustle-and-bustle might not bother most patients, but for people with special needs, all of that sensory input at once can be overwhelming. It may even keep them from visiting the dentist. 

We understand these challenges and make personalized accommodations for our special needs patients. By far, one of the most effective ways to create calm in a dental office is sedation dentistry. 

We offer a range of sedation options. This approach uses safe and proven medications to bring on a sense of calmness and relaxation, empowering patients to get the dental care they need. 

Advanced sedation options for special needs patients 

The most common approach for special needs sedation is nitrous oxide, or laughing gas. Patients inhale the clear gas through a fitted nasal hood. Mixed with oxygen, nitrous oxide creates a highly effective, safe sedative. 

Nitrous oxide slows the nervous system down temporarily. It helps block anxiety, triggers the release of natural pain relief neurotransmitters, and helps the brain release more dopamine — the “feel good” neurotransmitter. Patients are awake during nitrous oxide treatments and can communicate with Dr. Wilmore and our team. 

As soon as the dental work is complete, we remove the nitrous oxide hood and the effects dissipate quickly. Many patients do extremely well with this type of sedation, and it’s common for patients to not remember the procedure at all. 

Overall, nitrous oxide is a safe and reliable way for special needs patients to get the dental care they need. But it isn’t right for everyone. For instance, some of our special needs patients may have trouble wearing the nasal hood. 

We understand that every patient is unique, and we offer other safe means of sedation, such as oral sedation (taking pills before the procedure) or intravenous sedation (delivering sedative medication through an arm vein). 

We customize sedation for every patient’s unique circumstances. But our support for special needs patients doesn’t end with the sedation. We can lower the lights to a more comfortable level, for example, or provide noise-canceling headphones, cozy blankets, and other options. 

Special needs patients might find it particularly comforting to have a parent or other support person by their side during treatment, and we work with families to accommodate that. 

With her empathetic and gentle approach, Dr. Wilmore is highly experienced in supporting our special needs patients in the way that works best for them. We’d love to be the go-to Houston dentist for your family. Call us at 713-266-4222 or contact us online anytime.