1
Mom can request a phone call from Dr. Kailey before the first visit. This one-on-one conversation allows us to learn the child’s past dental experiences and create a plan on how to make their new dental experience as successful as possible.
2
Special needs patients have the option to schedule a visit to the office during “quiet hours” before the office’s opens, during lunch, or after the last patient where they can accommodate to the office without as much sensory overload. These visits help them become familiar the office, staff, and Dr Kailey.
3
Desensitization visits can be performed with realistic and reachable goals for each visit. If a child is new to our office or the dental setting in general, we offer a series of short simple visits to help them become more comfortable. Each visit will have a realistic goal. If a child is especially nervous, that goal may be to enter the waiting room. The second visit will have an new goal, such as entering a hygiene room. The third visit could involve sitting in the dental chair.
4
Each special needs patient will be given a “home room.” A home room is a specific room in the office that they will have each time. We want to make the patient feel as comfortable as possible, and being in a familiar predictable setting is one easy way we can make the visit less stressful.
5
We are in the process of making a video that walks through the steps of a typical visit to allow patients to meet Dr. Kailey and her staff as well as provide an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the office.
6
Tell, show, do. Before your child has a cleaning or dental treatment, Dr. Kailey and her staff will first verbally walk them through what to expect. The child will then be shown how things will work and experience the sounds.
