IJERPH, Vol. 18, Pages 7987: Dental and Periodontal Care at the Bedside Using a Portable Dental Unit in Hospitalized Special Needs Patients: The Experience of an Italian Pediatric Hospital

IJERPH, Vol. 18, Pages 7987: Dental and Periodontal Care at the Bedside Using a Portable Dental Unit in Hospitalized Special Needs Patients: The Experience of an Italian Pediatric Hospital International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph18157987 Authors: Galeotti Ciribè Matarazzo Antonielli Festa Inserra Garret-Bernardin Callea Raponi Patients with special needs (SNPs) include individuals who are disabled due to physical limitations, medical complications, developmental problems, and cognitive impairments. SNPs may be at an increased risk of oral diseases throughout their lifetime. These patients have difficulties in accessing traditional dental studios or clinics. Moreover, orodental problems may cause local and generalized infections, leading to worrisome complications when not properly treated. In this paper, we describe the preliminary experience of treating dental problems in a series of nine hospitalized patients with special needs. This innovative protocol at the Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital (Rome, Italy) provides an introduction to a portable dental unit in order to perform oral care for hospitalized patients at the bedside. A multidisciplinary team composed of pediatric dentists, dental hygienists, nursing staff, and the patient’s case manager was involved in the operative protocol. The SNPs described were affected by congenital heart or oncohematological diseases and neurodisabilities, a...
Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Case Report Source Type: research