How to Effectively Identify and Treat Special Needs Patients in Your Dental Practice

Practical Clinical Tools for General Dentists to Manage Anxiety, Improve Access, and Navigate Care Models

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Course Description

This course equips general dentists with practical strategies for treating patients with special needs. Topics include identifying barriers to care, conducting effective patient assessments, and applying non-sedation techniques and preoperative anxiolytics. The course also covers the safe use of oral and IV conscious sedation, understanding clinical limits, and available training pathways. We will explore how managed care, PPOs, and fee-for-service models impact access and delivery of care.

Learning Topics

Identify common barriers to dental care, analyze relevant state-specific data, and compare access challenges between pediatric and adult populations.
Demonstrate a foundational understanding of the autism spectrum and implement evidence-based, non-sedation behavioral management strategies.
Describe safe protocols for the use of anxiolytics, benzodiazepines, narcotics, and reversal agents in a private practice setting.
Assess appropriate levels of sedation and evaluate the integration of CRNAs, mobile anesthesia providers, and formal sedation training programs (e.g., DOCS).
Identify key organizations and resources in special care dentistry and develop a plan for ongoing professional development in this area.

Course Details

Course Fee: Free
Credits: Catapult Education designates this activity for 1 credit continuing education credit.
Method: Live Webinar Lecture
Audience: General Dentists
AGD Subject Code: 750

Meet the Instructor

Dr. Vaughan’s favorite aunt was a dental assistant. She loved her job and the people she worked with. Seeing someone who loved where she worked and the profession she chose made an impression on him. In high school and college, he loved the sciences and loved learning new things. Dr. Vaughan grew up in Knoxville, TN and attended Vanderbilt University, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in economics. He studied German and History at the University of Regensburg in Germany.

Dr. Vaughan graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry and completed a 2-year general practice residency at Vanderbilt University in 1993. Dr. Vaughan has been involved in community missions with Generation Changers Church and has led medical mission trips to Mexico, Honduras, Brazil and inner-city Nashville. He met his wife Carla on a mission trip to Brazil in 1999. They stayed friends after the trip and married in 2011.

In his free time, Dr. Vaughan enjoys gardening, growing his orchard, running, hiking in parks and playing tennis with his daughters. Dr. Vaughan would love to skydive one day. He has gone bungee jumping in the past and says skydiving is the next step. His greatest accomplishment is taking care of his three grandchildren, between ages two and five, and getting them back to their parents. Dr. Vaughan loves working with talented people who are working in their area of giftedness. Changing smiles and changing lives brings him satisfaction.

Catapult Education, LLC is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider. ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry.

Approved PACE Program Provider. FAGD/MAGD Credit. Approval does not imply acceptance by a state or provincial board of dentistry or AGD endorsement. 6/1/24 to 5/31/28. Provider ID 306446.

By signing up for a free webinar, you authorize Catapult Education, its partners and the webinar sponsor, permission to contact you for future continuing education opportunities, e-learning announcements and product offers. Participants should always check with their state licensing board to determine which, if any, certification or licensing is required to perform specific procedures in their jurisdiction. The opinions expressed on this website come from a variety of writers and speakers that are not necessarily endorsed by Catapult Education or its associates. Viewers are responsible for verifying the validity, accuracy and relevance of all content before implementing any techniques, products or recommendations into their clinical setting. Viewers understand that Catapult Education its associates, writers, speakers, and sponsored affiliates are not in any way responsible or liable for any adverse events that may occur (i.e., in a clinical setting or anywhere) based on any information disseminated from Catapult Education sites.

Catapult Education received commercial support from Shofu for this presentation. Dr. Michael Vaughan received an honorarium from Shofu for the time involved in preparing and delivering this presentation. Catapult Education delivers clinically relevant continuing dental education programs which address the needs and preferences of our audience and provides them with the knowledge and confidence to integrate new techniques, practice management and treatment options into their respective practices. Catapult Education is committed to ensuring the content quality, objectivity and scientific integrity of all continuing education courses. Instructors are advised to support clinical recommendations with scientific research-supported data whenever possible and to disclose any conflict of interest between them and any corporate organization offering financial support or grant monies for this CE activity. Instructors are advised, where appropriate and if relevant to the subject matter of the presentation, to mention a variety of different product choices so as to present a balanced view of all therapeutic options available and promote improvements in oral healthcare free from commercial bias

1615 NW 4th Ave, Delray Beach, FL 33444 | United States

How to Effectively Identify and Treat Special Needs Patients in Your Dental Practice

General Dentists

September 25, 2025

7:00PM Central Time

1 CE Credit

Free

Live Webinar Lecture

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About the Course