Interface with a Community Feeding Team to Address Oral Health of Special Needs Children: A Pilot Project

Abstract

Purpose: Children with special health care needs (CSHCN) are most in need of anticipatory guidance and prevention. Achieving and maintaining optimal oral health is challenging, due to the many challenges this group faces both in medical and dental care. The purpose of this pilot project was to identify the educational needs of health professionals on a feeding team to prepare them to provide anticipatory guidance to special needs children, along with preliminary investigation into the role of the dental hygienist in improving the oral health of the CSHCN served by the feeding team.

Methods: Small focus groups were used to determine educational needs of the feeding team and provide initial identification of the role of the dental hygienist on the feeding team.

Results: The needs assessment indicated interest in an in-service to address connections between oral health and feeding issues, i.e. problems related to tube feeding and oral hypo- and hypersensitivities of the CSHCN.

Conclusion: This project suggests there is a role for the dental hygienist on the feeding team to provide preventive dental care and referral as well as education for caregivers and therapists. Future research is needed to further delineate the role of the dental hygienist on the feeding team as well as implementation of a model for integrating them into this multidisciplinary team.

This study supports the NDHRA priority area, Health Services Research: Assess the impact of dental hygiene services on the outcomes of care for patients with special health care needs