Page 18 - The Apex - Touro College of Dental Medicine 2024

A CRITICAL NEED
T ouroCARES
Looking after our marginalized IDD Community
York State is astounding,
according to a 2021 survey
from the Office for People
With Developmental
Disabilities (OPWDD).
OPWDD assists over
130,000 New Yorkers
with IDD who often face
extensive wait times for
IDD accessible dentists
basic services like cleanings,
and dental clinics in New
particularly if they require
York State,” explains
treatment in a hospital
Ronnie Myers, DDS, Dean
setting with anesthesia.
of Touro College of Dental
The problems, of course,
Medicine (TCDM). “More
don’t exist only in New York;
importantly, when these
the issue is widespread
patients are seen, the
across the country and
broader scope of their
impacts children and
unique needs are rarely
adults alike. A report from
accommodated, and sadly
the U.S. Surgeon General
their dental issues just
identified dental care as
persist.”
the most commonly unmet
Determined to do
health need for children
something about the lack
with special needs, and
of a state-of-the-art facility
this specialized care is
to treat IDD patients in the
even rarer for adults.
most sensitive, appropriate,
Those with developmental
accommodating, and
disabilities encounter oral
modern way, Dean Myers
health challenges including
is committed to creating
insufficient training in
but your only option
TouroCARES, a specialized
is seeing a dentist at a
clinic to address not
hospital, and the wait time
only the unique dental
needs of individuals with
LAn intellectual or
maintaining oral hygiene,
inconsistent access to care,
and negative experiences
for that appointment could
be as long as two years.
disabilities, but to serve as
What is IDD?
This is the scenario that
a training site for future
et’s face
patients with Intellectual
dental professionals
developmental disability,
it: Most of us are very
and Developmental
committed to special care
also called IDD, includes
lucky. When we have
Disabilities (IDD) face—an
dentistry. In creating such
many severe, chronic
dental pain (or any pain
experience that TCDM
a facility, TCDM will be
conditions that are due
for that matter), we can
intends to eliminate
able to provide care for
to mental and/or physical
impairments.
identify the source, make
with TouroCARES: The
these patients, meeting
an appointment with a
Center for Access, Respect,
the demands of this
When IDD patients don’t
receive oral health care
professional, and have
Empathy, and Social Justice.
marginalized community
tailored to their specific
our problems addressed.
“Currently, patients with
in the lower Hudson Valley
challenges, they suffer:
Nothing to it.
IDD too often have to wait
and beyond.
■ Decreased quality of life
Now imagine that you’re
months to resolve their
The profound lack of
■  Increased ER visits
due for a check-up (or you
dental issues, because
providers trained to treat
■  Unnecessary
have a dental emergency)
there is a severe lack of
IDD patients in New
hospitalization
■ High risk of infection
■ Chronic Pain
“The future facility will provide individuals with IDD a
safe, comfortable environment where their needs will
be addressed with a continuity of care that can be
followed throughout a patient’s lifetime.”
—Susan Disenso-Browne, DDS, TCDM Director of Special Needs
■  Tragic breakdown of teeth
50,000 children under
the age of 18 within the
counties of Westchester,
Rockland, Orange, and
Putnam are federally
classified as disabled.
16 \ TOURO COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE