Moursi-Next Generation of Special Care Dentistry-Dr. Moursis Course Video CSPD

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Dr. Amir Morsi, professor and chair of Pediatric Dentistry at NYU and president of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, discusses the “next generation” of special care dentistry. He begins by emphasizing persistent barriers to dental care for people with disabilities—especially adults—including financing, transportation, lack of hospital-based providers, limited OR access, and provider attitudes. A news story about a medically fragile adult who went 12 years without dental care illustrates how these barriers can lead to prolonged pain and emergency-only treatment. Morsi notes disability is a major public health issue, affecting millions, and that families of children with special health care needs consistently report dental care as their largest unmet need.<br /><br />Rather than focusing only on clinical techniques, he argues for a new, more holistic approach that combines improved individualized behavioral strategies with dedicated care delivery systems. Using autism as a case study, he highlights sensory overload, the importance of understanding prerequisite behaviors, and distinguishing tantrums from sensory-driven meltdowns. He encourages collaboration with occupational therapists, teachers, and behavioral specialists, and introduces applied behavior analysis concepts such as task analysis, prompting, token systems, desensitization visits, and “social stories” and videos to prepare patients before appointments.<br /><br />Morsi reviews tools for creating sensory-adaptive dental environments (noise-canceling headphones, weighted blankets, fidgets, visual controls, therapy dogs, and emerging FDA-approved digital therapies). He then describes NYU’s Oral Health Center for People with Disabilities: an 8,000 sq. ft. purpose-built clinic with accessible design, a multisensory room, nine large operatories, two hospital-grade ORs, interprofessional staffing, care coordination, translation technology, training programs, and advocacy efforts to expand capacity and reduce reliance on anesthesia and emergency care.

Keywords

special care dentistry

pediatric dentistry

disability dental care access

adult special needs dentistry

care barriers (financing transportation OR access)

hospital-based dental providers

autism sensory-adaptive dentistry

applied behavior analysis (ABA) in dentistry

behavioral desensitization visits

sensory-adaptive dental environment tools

NYU Oral Health Center for People with Disabilities

interprofessional care coordination and advocacy