Question

You are a dental hygienist practicing in a special-needs practice and you are meeting with the parents of a child with Down’s Syndrome. The patient is considered high functioning but it is their first appointment in a dental office. The parents want to know how you will be treating their child.

Include introducing the patient to the office, the techniques you will use to make the child feel comfortable and safe during treatment, and the treatment plan including oral hygiene instructions. Your focus is on patient management and not the specific patient’s condition.

Answer 1

While providing information and support to the patient and his family members suffering from Down's syndrome it is must that the dental hygienist should have proper skills and knowledge.

In this case i would first orient the patient and his parents to the dentla clinic, orient them to the dentla chair, equipments and procedures.

I would explain the procedure of dental treatment to the patient using tell show and do technique. This technique enables to first verbally explain the patient about the process, then will show the equipments and how they work to the patient and them with consent and collaborarion do the treatment.

Moreover, while providing oral care education i would explain the patient with down's syndrome as per his level of understanding and would also approach education for the parents.