Being of Service

Back in February 2022, Inside Dentistry's cover story addressed the plight faced by individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) in accessing oral healthcare. This month, our November 2022 cover story reenters the conversation to further elaborate on the oral healthcare challenges experienced by this population and explore some of the specific efforts of universities and organizations to address the need for better education and training for students and practicing dentists as well as to improve access to routine and preventive care.

Although pediatric dentists have long been trained to treat these patients, most general dentists without postdoctoral education have not received any training, which makes it difficult for the caregivers of adults with IDDs to find general practitioners who are able to treat them. Some of these patients require sedation or general anesthesia to be treated, but the reality is that most can be treated outside of hospital settings and without sedation if workflows are modified, appropriate management techniques are employed, and treatment is approached with the compassion and patience required to establish a relationship and help the patient understand what is happening up to his or her level. Dentists and their teams just need to be appropriately trained.