An article by Dr. Elizabeth Chisholm was published in the November/December edition of Special Care in Dentistry Journal.  The article, Improving Dental Visits for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, was co-authored with Dr. Heather Miller Kuhaneck, a pediatric occupational therapist with a specialty in Autism and Sensory Integration. In the article Drs. Chisholm and Kuhaneck addressed many of the sensory processing issues children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) experience in the dental environment.  Their goal was to help providers improve the dental experience for these children.  Although patients with an ASD have similar dental needs to other patients, the symptoms of the disorder may influence the dental practitioners’ ability to provide necessary care.  Dental professionals may be unaware of the difficulties with sensory processing common to those with an ASD.  However, awareness of sensory processing issues and knowledge of strategies to improve the sensory experience for individuals with an ASD may improve dental visits for these patients and allow for enhanced dental care provision.

The article includes an overview of sensory processing, and discusses sensory processing from a dental perspective, as well as ways to improve the dental visit by altering the sensory experience.   The goal of the article was to provide dental practitioners insight into some of the difficulties patients with ASD may experience and suggestions for improving the experience from a sensory standpoint.

You can find the full article in the November/December 2012 edition of Special Care in Dentistry.  Special Care in Dentistry is the official journal of SCDA, the American Association of Hospital Dentists, The Academy of Dentistry for Persons with Disabilities and the American Society for Geriatric Dentistry. It is the only journal published in North America devoted to improving oral health for people with special needs.