February was Kansas Oral Health Month! In collaboration with Oral Health Kansas, Families Together, Inc. (FTI), the federally designated Parent Training and Information Center (PTI) in Kansas, distributed a survey to the families they serve to learn about their oral health, experiences at the dentist, and how they and their loved ones navigate oral health challenges as individuals with disabilities.

They received mixed responses, as people have differing experiences while at the dentist. Below is an example of a positive and negative experience by two different survey respondents.

The positive:

“My dental hygienist is awesome! She makes all the difference in my bi-annual dentist visit.”

The negative:

“[My child] is a 17 yo boy with global delays, autism, and brain malformations…no local dentists will see him, the children’s hospital rarely has people on staff that understand his needs or address them. He requires full anesthesia as he does not respond well to sedation. He gets no dental care unless there is an emergency.”

While conversations about dental care for those with disabilities may feel like an uncommon or frustrating topic, there are professionals and organizations who are dedicated to supporting this population with their dental needs. Oral Health Kansas is aware that youth and people with disabilities may struggle in medical settings like dental facilities, and they have an entire page of resources on their website to support them. These can be found here.

Don’t let your concerns or questions go unaddressed! Visit OralHealthKansas.org to learn how you can support yourself or your youth in having a healthy, confident smile.

*Blog Post Contributed by Families Together, Inc.