Treatment of Patients with Special Needs 4
Course Director: Kimberly Espinoza
Credits: 2
Quarters/Yr of Program: Spring / 4
Course Overview
Students are exposed to the assessment process and treatment strategies for successful management of patients with developmental and acquired disabilities; geriatric patients; and anxious, fearful, or phobic patients. This is one course in a series of required courses focused on this subject and taken by all fourth-year dental students every quarter.
Learning Objectives
The student who successfully completes this course will be able to do the following:
1. Provide clinical treatment using appropriate facilitation techniques for patients with developmental and acquired disabilities as well as geriatric patients.
2. Assess the needs of patients with special needs, geriatric patients, and dentally fearful patients, including non-dental considerations.
3. Outline the appropriate consent process when providing care for people with communication, cognitive or sensory impairments, patients requiring special care, and geriatric patients.
4. Use oral health social and environmental facilitators for the oral health promotion of patients with special needs.
5. Describe the different categories of dentally fearful individuals and appropriate behavioral management techniques for each patient presentation type.
6. Use appropriate patient facilitation techniques for anxious patients, geriatric patients, and patients with other special needs.
7. Use critical thinking to make case-specific modifications to “ideal” treatment plans for geriatric patients and patients with special needs.
8. Evaluate the need for teamwork and interprofessional liaison in the management of patients requiring special care.
9. Refer or arrange care for patients with complex needs.
UWSOD Competencies: C-10, C-02, C-09, C-06, CE-03, C-03, C-04, C-08, C-15, CE-01, C-14, C-28, C-12, C-13, C-31, C-17, C-05, C-11, C-30, C-18
Date last updated: 2024-07-08