Dental and Periodontal Care at the Bedside Using a Portable Dental Unit in Hospitalized Special Needs Patients: The Experience of an Italian Pediatric Hospital

Angela Galeotti, Massimiliano Ciribè, Giorgio Matarazzo, Giancarlo Antonielli, Paola Festa, Alessandro Inserra, Annelyse Garret-Bernardin, Michele Callea and Massimiliano Raponi
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Angela Galeotti: Unit of Dentistry, Bambino Gesù Children’s Research Hospital IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Massimiliano Ciribè: Unit of Dentistry, Bambino Gesù Children’s Research Hospital IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Giorgio Matarazzo: Unit of Dentistry, Bambino Gesù Children’s Research Hospital IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Giancarlo Antonielli: Unit of Dentistry, Bambino Gesù Children’s Research Hospital IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Paola Festa: Unit of Dentistry, Bambino Gesù Children’s Research Hospital IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Alessandro Inserra: Department of General and Thoracic Surgery, Bambino Gesù Children’s Research Hospital IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Annelyse Garret-Bernardin: Unit of Dentistry, Bambino Gesù Children’s Research Hospital IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Michele Callea: Unit of Dentistry, Bambino Gesù Children’s Research Hospital IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Massimiliano Raponi: Medical Direction, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 15, 1-10

Abstract: Patients with special needs (SNPs) include individuals who are disabled due to physical limitations, medical complications, developmental problems, and cognitive impairments. SNPs may be at an increased risk of oral diseases throughout their lifetime. These patients have difficulties in accessing traditional dental studios or clinics. Moreover, orodental problems may cause local and generalized infections, leading to worrisome complications when not properly treated. In this paper, we describe the preliminary experience of treating dental problems in a series of nine hospitalized patients with special needs. This innovative protocol at the Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital (Rome, Italy) provides an introduction to a portable dental unit in order to perform oral care for hospitalized patients at the bedside. A multidisciplinary team composed of pediatric dentists, dental hygienists, nursing staff, and the patient’s case manager was involved in the operative protocol. The SNPs described were affected by congenital heart or oncohematological diseases and neurodisabilities, and they were all hospitalized for different reasons: Open heart surgery, chemotherapy, organ transplantation, and rehabilitation. The oral evaluation was mandatory for ruling out or treating problems that could cause complications. Dental extractions, caries and fracture fillings, sealing, and oral hygiene procedures were performed at the bedside of the patients in the reference unit of their pediatric hospital. The results of this protocol confirm the feasibility of dental procedures at patients’ bedside with portable dental units, encourage implementation of their use, and may represent an actionable model for oral care management in hospitalized SNPs.

Keywords: portable dental unit; dentistry; special needs patients (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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