Special Needs Dentistry on Long Island

Adelberg Montalvan Pediatric Dental provides excellent dental services to children of all ages and children with special needs. Call us at one of our four locations in Massapequa Park, Nesconset, West Islip, and Northport, NY, to learn more and schedule your appointment.

Adelberg Montalvan Pediatric Dental provides excellent dental services to children of all ages and children with special needs. Call us at one of our four locations in Massapequa Park, Nesconset, and West Islip to learn more and schedule your appointment. 

It’s so important to us that all of our patients have a positive experience at Adelberg and Montalvan Pediatric Dental. Pediatric dentists lay the foundation for a lifetime of good oral health and we’re committed to doing just that for every single child who walks through our doors, including those with special healthcare needs.

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentists defines persons with special healthcare needs as individuals who have a physical, developmental, mental, sensory, behavioral, cognitive, or emotional impairment or limited condition that requires medical management, healthcare intervention, and/or the use of specialized services or programs. While all of these needs are often lumped into one single “special needs” category, we always see your child as the unique individual that they are and we understand that there is no one-size-fits-all treatment plan for special needs patients. 

Our doctors have special training and experience in providing dental care for handicapped and special healthcare needs patients. We are more than willing to work with your child’s doctors, therapists, or other healthcare providers in order to come up with a treatment plan that helps them feel safe at our office. Some potential options are:

• A longer appointment time
• A meet-and-greet to help your child feel comfortable with us prior to their procedure
• No-shot laser dentistry, to minimize discomfort and time spent in the dentist’s chair
• Nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, for children with dental anxiety
• IV sedation, which is performed with a medical anesthesia team consisting of an anesthesiologist and nurse anesthesiologist, or two anesthesiologists

If there’s anything else we can do to accommodate your child’s needs, please don’t hesitate to let us know. We’re always happy to talk to you on the phone before your child’s appointment to discuss your concerns. 

Call us today to schedule your appointment.

We recommend scheduling your child’s dental visits every six months, the same as you would with any child. Children with special needs often benefit from extra dental checkups because they may not be able to communicate if they are experiencing pain and other dental problems. Regular visits also help them get used to the dental chair and allow our team to monitor their dental health to prevent the need for restorative work. We understand that it can be stressful for you to bring your child in for their regular dental appointments and our team is willing to work with you to make sure your child is as comfortable as possible at our practice.

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and American Dental Association both recommend dental checkups twice a year. We adhere to these guidelines rather than letting insurance companies dictate the proper treatment for our patients. Biannual visits allow us to provide the best possible care for your child—it lets us identify dental issues early, when they are easier to treat, and gives us the opportunity to teach good habits to lay the foundation for a lifetime of healthy smiles.

When sedation is recommended for your child, it is because we feel that it is the safest and most effective way to provide them with the dental care they need. Children may require sedation due to special needs, behavioral issues, or because a significant amount of treatment is needed at a young age. By using dental sedation, we can make their experience at our office as positive as possible and avoid dental trauma that causes anxiety about future appointments.

We are specialists in caring for the dental needs of children and have advanced training in how to meet the unique requirements of children with special medical or emotional needs. We provide a higher level of care that makes your child’s experience at our office less traumatic and easier for your family. When anesthesia is needed, we have a medical anesthesiologist provide it in our office so your child doesn’t need to go to an unfamiliar practice or hospital.

Contact your local office to schedule an appointment.