Beginning in 2020, all dental schools will be required to teach students how to care for patients with disabilities, an initiative University of Texas Health San Antonio School of Dentistry has already started integrating into training, according to ABC affiliate KSAT.
The new standards, approved by the Commission on Dental Accreditation, will go into effect Jul. 1, 2020 for predoctoral dental, orthodontics, dental hygiene and dental assistant programs.
Dental students at UT Health San Antonio are already training with devices to help transfer patients from a wheelchair to a dental chair, Peter Loomer, DDS, dean and professor at UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry, told KSAT.
"We've already been teaching students how to work with patients with special needs, however, they still have limited access to treat them based on our capacities at our facility," Dr. Loomer said. The dental school will open a new clinic in 2021, designed specifically for training students about treatment for patients with special needs.
The new guidelines follow a 2017 National Council on Disability report that found more than 50 percent of dental and medical school deans did not think their graduates were competent to treat patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities. As a result, people with disabilities have an increased risk of poor oral hygiene, periodontal disease and untreated dental caries. Furthermore, dental care is often the most difficult type of service to find for people with special needs.
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The new standards, approved by the Commission on Dental Accreditation, will go into effect Jul. 1, 2020 for predoctoral dental, orthodontics, dental hygiene and dental assistant programs.
Dental students at UT Health San Antonio are already training with devices to help transfer patients from a wheelchair to a dental chair, Peter Loomer, DDS, dean and professor at UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry, told KSAT.
"We've already been teaching students how to work with patients with special needs, however, they still have limited access to treat them based on our capacities at our facility," Dr. Loomer said. The dental school will open a new clinic in 2021, designed specifically for training students about treatment for patients with special needs.
The new guidelines follow a 2017 National Council on Disability report that found more than 50 percent of dental and medical school deans did not think their graduates were competent to treat patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities. As a result, people with disabilities have an increased risk of poor oral hygiene, periodontal disease and untreated dental caries. Furthermore, dental care is often the most difficult type of service to find for people with special needs.
More articles on dental:
Colorado dentist abruptly closes office, patients unable to get refunds, records
How the Georgia Dental Association is fighting the opioid crisis
Texas dentist office to pay $20K to settle pregnancy discrimination suit