Dawn Moon has over 25 years’ experience working as a dental hygienist. For the last 8 years she has been working primarily with adults with developmental disabilities in the community sector of Health Services for the Community Living Team at Island Health.

Her focus has been on creating oral health guidelines for adults with dysphagia and strategies to help people attain dental care in the community. She continues to advocate for better solutions for adults facing challenges accessing dental treatment.

Providing Dental Care for Adults with Developmental Disabilities

Dental office visits can be a major challenge for someone who has had trauma around medical appointments, has sensory integration or processing issues, lack of speech, or complex health needs. Often these individuals are seen in the hospital using general anesthetic for dental treatment. Creating a relationship with a dental office and creating the expectation for safe, effective and consistent daily mouth care is an important step in preventing and treating oral disease for these patients.

Learning Objectives

1. Outline the challenges of oral health care and dental office visits for people with complex health needs.
2. Understand the current health care consent act as well as other legislation and guidelines that affect this part of the population.
3. Recognize techniques and the timeline required to assist in preparing a person to visit the dental office.