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Issues & People Pediatric Dentistry Supporting Your Practice

Introducing the CDA Dental Patient Special Health Care Needs Transition Process

The CDA Dental Patient Special Health Care Needs Transition Process is a new tool to guide patients, families/caregivers, and oral health care providers through the transition process when an adolescent with special health care needs moves from pediatric to adult oral health care, or when an adult with special health care needs moves from one dental practice to another.

Developed by CDA’s National Coordinating Working Group on Access to Care, in collaboration with community-based pediatric dentists, general dentists, and a parent, the best practices outlined in the tool can be used for and adapted to any special health care needs patient group in providing a seamless, patient-centred integration which encourages individual autonomy in the new health care setting.

In the first of two videos below, Dr. Clive Friedman, Dr. Dana Coles and Dr. Heather Carr highlight the importance of this tool in overcoming what Dr. Friedman describes as the single greatest challenge in access to care for patients with disability. This tool will enable dentists to ask the right questions to help serve their patients and caregivers better. For oral health care teams on both the departing and receiving ends of patient care, following a step-by-step transition process will facilitate the development of an organized, coordinated, and consistent clinical protocol for both transition preparation and patient transfer.

In the second video, Pilot: Collaboration between two dentists and family to transition a patient, Carroll Sturgeon, mother and caregiver to her daughter, Melanie, shares her insights on transition of care following Melanie’s transition from the pediatric to an adult dental care setting. This testimonial video illustrates how patients and their families/caregivers can benefit from a more formalized transition process by being guided through the process; being more aware of what to expect; and knowing what type of information to share with the new oral health care provider.

Helpful videos on a range of topics are linked throughout the tool in a process that consists of three steps:

    • Step 1: Transition Readiness Assessment
    • Step 2: Dental Summary and Care Plan
    • Step 3: Meet and Greet 

The CDA Dental Patient Special Health Care Needs Transition Process is available in both English and in French and can be found on the CDA website at cda-adc.ca/transition.

OTHER HELPFUL LINKS:

Introduction (2'28")

Collaboration between two dentists and family to transition a patient (3'37")

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