Specialized dental care helps children keep their smile

Situated on the Collier campus of Florida Southwestern State College is the state-of-the-art NCEF Pediatric Dental Center.

It fills a great need, UF dental resident Alexandra Fuller told WINK News Health and Medical Reporter Amy Oshier. Most of her patients are considered high-risk. 

“They do have generalized cavities throughout their mouth, and to be able to bring them in in multiple visits and have them sit comfortably and not be afraid for future visits. It’s very difficult,” said Fuller. 

Mom Wendy Sharon knows what that feels like. Her 12-year-old son Jesse has Down syndrome, and going to the dentist was hard on everyone. 

“Jesse has a fear of anyone putting their hands near his mouth, so a lot of times, we couldn’t even get him to open his mouth for them to actually check his teeth or do any work on his teeth,” said Sharon. 

The center is designed to help kids with special needs and kids with complex cases. It offers things other dental offices don’t. 

“An anesthesia team comes into the office and provides the anesthesia care, and we do the dentistry in one sitting so that the patients are more comfortable. They’re asleep, and we’re able to do all of their procedures,” said Fuller. 

There is a great need for IV sedation, which costs thousands of dollars on the open market. All of the procedures done at the dental center are absolutely free to the patient. The Naples Children and Education Foundation foots the entire bill for sedation services.   

“It is very expensive,” said Fuller. “Because we have so many gracious donors, that’s the only reason we’re able to do this.” 

The waitlist for sedation grows by about 10 kids each week. Regardless of cost, fixing their smiles is priceless. 

View more about NCEF Pediatric Dental Center here.