Prof Ponnudurai

Dr Ponnudurai Arangannal is Professor and Head of the Department at Sri Ramachandra Dental College Chennai. 

 We try to manage children with special needs on the chairside, and in the 15 years I have been practicing it has been my experience that they invariably land up in the operation theatre. Depending on the severity of the disability and the extent of treatment I decide whether the child needs to be managed in the clinic or the OT. Managing a Special Child in the clinic can be embarrassing, even if we decide to treat the child in the clinic; my advice would be to call the child at a time when other patients are not present. It is an uncomfortable experience, I’m sure if you go to a hospital and are faced with someone who is really sick, then even you would not be very comfortable. And most textbooks give clear guidelines as to the treatment of these children under general anesthesia, so I feel it is better for everyone concerned, the dentist, the parent and the patient to treat these children in the OT.