Re: Special Needs Dental Day

[Guest guest]

I think is a stunning wonderful idea, and probably extremely important to Shaun

in particular!

one question: how does he plan to learn about the other special needs out there

that need different handling than autism? For example, where will he get some

knowledge on how to deal with a mentally retarded 10 year old, or a child with

cerebral palsy?

I hope this works out -- what a good man.

Jacquie

[Guest guest]

Grace,

Here is a way for Shaun to just see autistic children. Have him tie his

" promotion " into April, which is Autism Awareness Month. That way no one will

feel slighted if the event is marketed the proper way.

Story in local newspaper about dentist with autistic twins . . . plus the

April angle . . . becomes a huge human interest story when he offers a

special day for that disability.

-BJ

[Guest guest]

Fabulous idea!! Maybe he could encourage other

dentists to do the same. Yay Shaun!!!

Tuna

=====

" Blessed is the influence of one true loving

human soul on another. "

- Eliot

______________________________________________________________________

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[Guest guest]

Grace,

Ok....you ask alot here...lol. You made a good point about

different types of kids and what things you could expect. First, as

for restraints I think it depends on the child the parent and the

dentist. You say Shaun is pretty open to everything so that is great!

Greggory could probably be talked into and comforted into an exam but

probably not much more than that. Alec on the other hand would have

to be restrained in some way. As for me personally any form of

restraint that was decent would work as I know Alec will not tolerate

anyone going into his mouth.

Second, I think that a free exam and maybe cleaning(maybe) would

be great! Anything more than that and I would think the dentist was a

saint or nuts. LOL I was thinking that Shaun could do a free exam day

and tell the parents what their child nmeeds and if the parent wants

they could come back some other time to get the work done(knowing

that they had foubnd a great dentist who is willing to work on their

kid). I would say that they dental work should be paid for by the

parents at that point. Maybe if Shaun wanted to he could do it at

cost with payments if he felt so inclined. I think Shaun may be

underestimating how many children he may be asked to service and so

this is why he is thinking free is even an option!

Third,I think publicity is a must! Get the media and maybe a

couple of papers and a radio station to cover it. What he is offering

is great! I know parents who travel to the bay area from the valley

just so they can find a dentist who is willing to work on their kids

and they still have to pay for all the services! And that said I

would guess people would probably travel up to 45 mins easily for a

good dentist. I personally would probably good to the same dentist

myself if I thought he was good with the kids as well.

Last,I would want to stay in the room with Greggory because I

think it would be comforting to him to have me there but as for Alec

I dont know if he would even care. I dont want to be there myself but

I think my kids might feel better if I was. So thats it.

Jacquie H

]

]

>

> > Where do I sign up? Greggory and Alec need to see the dentist!

> > Jacquie H

>

>

> Jacquie, I know they do! ;o)

>

> But we haven't worked out the details.

> And there are lots of details to go through.

>

> For instance..... what does a parent look for in a special needs

dentist?

> Understanding? Compassion? That much Shaun has, especially where

special

> needs children are concerned. Especially moreso if they aren't

going home

> with him.

> That said -- I need to know what would make you guys choose to

come to this

> particular dentist over another?

>

> For example - there are various ways to approach this.

>

> ----Restraints: For some children, restraints will probably have

to be

> used. Taking your kids for example, Jacquie - - - Greggory

understands

> words. He might be open to being coerced, bribed, or negotiation.

He might

> even allow it if things are explained to him so he can understand.

These

> things MIGHT happen, or they may not, but it is possible. With

Alec... or

> even better, Sydney and Madison <totally nonverbal> - - this is not

even

> remotely possible. They do not UNDERSTAND compromises, bribery, or

what

> have you. The experience in itself does not have to be terrible.

But - -

> somehow, someway, the child needs to be accepting to the procedure

or at

> least the checkup. Now, would you rather the restraints (either

physical or

> via human beings holding onto the child) be used so that checkups

and

> procedures are completed, or would you rather go home without

accomplishing

> anything but having met a nice dentist who doesn't use restraints?

Or,

> would you rather this dentist use restraints, or his employees to

help hold

> the child down long enough to give him nitrous oxide <with a mask>

to calm

> him down, release the restraints, and do as many procedures as you

can

> within the time this child is giddy? Or..... would you rather the

> restraints be used long enough to give the child general

anesthesia - - and

> get all the procedures done during one visit? Keep in mind that

this " free

> dental work " day is not a weekly thing. At best, he is thinking

quarterly,

> for one day only.

>

> -----Cost: This is where Shaun and I disagree. He wants to make

the whole

> day at his cost. He hopes that he can get a pedodontist in there

for that

> one day, for free, to administer general anesthesia if need be, and

to work

> on the specialty pedo cases - - again, for free. I say there is no

need to

> spend all that money on treating special needs children for

completely free.

> Most places charge for an office visit. If the child just needs a

> cleaning - fine. But if the child needs intensive work - - there

is no

> reason Shaun should have to cover the cost of that, even on this

one day. I

> suggested he charge enough to cover his cost, even if he doesn't

make a

> dime. He still thinks " free " is better. Now, to the patient, I

know it's

> better. But do we really want people bringing in their special

needs kids

> JUST because it's free? BTW - he means FREE just for the special

needs

> child, not the whole family. Thoughts on this? If it weren't

free... if it

> was only half-off sale, or a " special needs day " - - would you not

come on

> account of it? On the flipside, would you come just BECAUSE it was

free?

>

> -----Publicity: As is the case with all things, this is not just

from the

> goodness of his heart. No, correction. Once I got involved, it

wasn't just

> from the goodness of his heart. Publicity is an important marketing

> feature, and one that I deem as important as good dental work. I

think this

> is a sensitive enough issue that i could get newspapers to cover

it, and

> perhaps even some media coverage. It could start a good thing

going for our

> kids. Shaun is a part of several good medical and dental

associations in

> the area, and some sponsor things of this nature. That could

happen at a

> later date, and it may benefit many children in the area. They

already do

> it for the geriatric folks who can't afford medical and dental

work. My

> question is: If you were to attend a day such as this one with your

> children, and if you should find that the dentists at that practice

did

> better than excellent work, were as understanding as you would hope

for your

> children, and did free dental work on your children but would

charge you as

> they do everyone else should you come to them as patients - - - -

would YOU

> go back to that dentist when you need work done, or would you go

back to

> your own dentist for your own teeth and only go to this new dentist

for your

> child's " free " dental visit days? And, if you would go back to

that new

> dentist - - - how far of a distance would you travel to go back?

10 miles?

> 40 miles?

>

> I don't know the answer to these questions because I never had to

think

> about how much or little I would have to do, dental-wise, for my

kids, as

> their father IS their dentist. I really don't know how much

the " average "

> person would do to find a good dentist? I know Shaun's work to be

at least

> excellent. I know he would BE PATIENCE ITSELF when involved with

these

> children. I know he would not be in the least irritated should it

take 5

> visits to get one cleaning done. But - - while I do think the

idea is

> wonderful - - I don't want to incur a huge loss on account of a

good deed.

> This is not because I don't think it's worth spending the money,

but moreso

> that we are HARDLY at the financial point where we can afford to be

> philanthropic. Just as Jacquie was mentioning " working poor " in

Canada - -

> it's pretty much the same here. In the Bay Area, our income is at

best,

> average. I would LOVE for my husband to help out these kids who

need work,

> but can't find a decent dentist to go to. We just can't afford to

pay for

> it all out of our pockets.

> I also mentioned to him tonight about whether or not he would allow

parents

> to be in the same room when the procedures are being done.

Initially, he

> said the same thing - - - " normally, parents are not supposed to be

in the

> room. " I reminded him that nothing about this was " normal " and

told him

> about Penny's experience with dentists. He thought about it for a

second,

> and then said there is no reason why they cannot be in the room,

but that

> they would see nothing pleasant going on. He added that he doesn't

care

> whether they are there or not - - - he just doesn't see why they

would WANT

> to be, LOL.

> I explained further, he gets it, and has no problem with that.

>

> So???? Ideas?

[Guest guest]

Um, what Day will this be?

I need to make flight arrangements.

Seriously.

Penny

[Guest guest]

> Seriously.

>

> Penny

LOL. You WOULD be, LOL.

Grace )

[Guest guest]

>> Well, er, uh, NO.

> We do a thing where he is totally surprised and gets the shot w/out

> seeing it. (I'm not too proud about this part of it actually!)>>

What the folks here do is have me give a big hug, facing me,

and the doc just comes in real quick and jabs his arm...the stuff

they use glazes him over in less than a minute, and I am told he has

no memory of it afterward. It's the same stuff they use to take wild

animals down, in a child-size dose. Knocks them out just long enough

to get them into the chair and poked with the IV...

I hate hate hate the way he blanks out; I was in tears by the time

they lifted him into the chair. But it is the most kind way to do

it, from what I have seen.

In our case, they let you stay in until the child is unconscious; I

probably couldn't have stayed much longer anyway, to be honest. The

dentist gave me a hug and walked me to the waiting room...where I

took a deep breath and got out my cross-stitch.

Raena

[Guest guest]

{Would you be happy, though, to get your child sedated or given NO2

for a mere cleaning, I wonder?}

I think I would be comfortable if I felt my child was in real serious

need of a cleaning and there was no other way we could accomplish it.

but that is just me and every parent is different.

Jacquie H

> Jacquie - THANKS for the opinions. I really need opinions on what

people

> would want or do for their own kids. This was perfect!

> Read on....

>

> > Second, I think that a free exam and maybe cleaning(maybe)

would

> > be great! Anything more than that and I would think the dentist

was a

> > saint or nuts. LOL I was thinking that Shaun could do a free exam

day

> > and tell the parents what their child nmeeds and if the parent

wants

> > they could come back some other time to get the work done(knowing

> > that they had foubnd a great dentist who is willing to work on

their

> > kid).

>

> I think this is a good idea. A cleaning would only be Shaun's

labor time,

> and no real substantial cost where materials or lab fees are

concerned. And

> all kids need it, and should get it, so it would be good for them.

Would

> you be happy, though, to get your child sedated or given NO2 for a

mere

> cleaning, I wonder?

>

> I > cost with payments if he felt so inclined. I think Shaun

may be

> > underestimating how many children he may be asked to service and

so

> > this is why he is thinking free is even an option!

>

> Could be, since we have absolutely NO idea about how big or small

this need

> is in our area. I know autism is at its highest here. I know that

all

> kinds of towns are developing autism classes and programs. I have

NO idea

> if we even have ONE other handicapped child in the area as all I

know is

> autism LOLOL!!

>

>

> > Third,I think publicity is a must! Get the media and maybe a

> > couple of papers and a radio station to cover it. What he is

offering

> > is great! I know parents who travel to the bay area from the

valley

> > just so they can find a dentist who is willing to work on their

kids

> > and they still have to pay for all the services! And that said I

> > would guess people would probably travel up to 45 mins easily for

a

> > good dentist. I personally would probably good to the same dentist

> > myself if I thought he was good with the kids as well.

>

> I'm going to do just that. I think people would be very generous

with

> something like this as in free airtime, and perhaps ad space in the

local

> papers. I think I can pull it off. If nothing else, we could

distribute

> something to all the ASD programs in the area, and spread the word.

>

> > Last,I would want to stay in the room with Greggory because I

> > think it would be comforting to him to have me there but as for

Alec

> > I dont know if he would even care. I dont want to be there myself

but

> > I think my kids might feel better if I was. So thats it.

>

>

> LOL, me too. I don't want to be in the room, but I don't quite

think I

> could leave either. )

> THANKS FOR ALL YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS!!!

>

> Grace

[Guest guest]

Wow, BJ, what a great idea!

B

> Grace,

>

> Here is a way for Shaun to just see autistic children. Have him tie

his

> " promotion " into April, which is Autism Awareness Month. That way

no one will

> feel slighted if the event is marketed the proper way.

>

> Story in local newspaper about dentist with autistic twins . . .

plus the

> April angle . . . becomes a huge human interest story when he

offers a

> special day for that disability.

>

> -BJ

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Grace

OK...Let's look at it THIS way...

What is wrong with Shaun distinquishing himself as a dentist specializing in

Autism? Not to single Autism out, or make other disabilities less important,

but how much NEED is there for dentists for kids with other special needs?

We KNOW what the need is for Autistic Children...Is the need the same, more,

or less for others?

Just a thought.

Penny