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For Dentists : About This Project
The Need
Among the health care-related difficulties faced by persons with disabilities is that of identifying dentists who are capable of meeting their needs. This is one of the most frequent concerns that agencies providing services to persons with developmental disabilities hear from persons with disabilities or their parents or caretakers.
The shortage of appropriate and accessible dental care is not specifically a New Jersey issue. A growing body of professional literature in dentistry and in developmental disability suggests that this problem is widely recognized throughout the United States and Canada. In 2000, the U.S. Surgeon General identified children with special health care needs as experiencing particular difficulty in gaining access to appropriate dental care.
Physical accessibility, appropriate seating, Medicaid reimbursement, and the training and readiness of dentists and their staff to accommodate those with special needs are all important considerations when trying to identify appropriate and accessible dental care. Persons in New Jersey who have developmental disabilities, their families, and caretakers do not, however, have ready access to information about dentists in their area who have taken such steps to accommodate patients who have special needs. |
The Survey
This survey project and the resulting publicly accessible database are modeled after a similar project conducted in Massachusetts called "New England INDEX," an information technology program located at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center, University of Massachusetts.
The intent of the project is to survey dentists in New Jersey regarding their ability to serve persons with developmental disabilities. Like the Massachusetts survey, this one will inform planning and policy-making regarding dental care for persons who have developmental disabilities, and portions of the data have been used to construct a publicly available database of "disability-friendly" dentists in New Jersey. |
The Database
Those dentists who elect in the survey to have their information made available to the public are entered into a web-based database. The database will contain your contact information, information about your specialties, information about any steps you have taken to accommodate patients who have disabilities, and other information you will provide in the survey. The database is searchable by geographic location and specialties. Your information does not have to be included in the database in order for you to participate in the survey. Your responses are important for policy and planning purposes even if you elect not to include your information in the online database.
The database is maintained by the Matheny Institute for Research in Developmental Disabilities at the Matheny Medical and Educational Center in Peapack, New Jersey. |
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