CDA Essentials 2016 • Volume 3 • Issue 8

27 Volume 3 Issue 7 | I ssues and P eople How would you define ADHD? One of the best definitions I’ve heard came from a neurologist. He referred to it as the “diabetes of the psychology world.” I think it’s a really interesting analogy because like diabetes, it’s a condition that requires long-term management. ADHD is rooted in neurological differences that hinder one’s ability to understand and foresee the consequences of behaviours or actions before they are performed. In other words, they have a hard time looking toward the future before the impulse of the act. Why do you think ADHD has seemingly become increasingly diagnosed? It’s probably because we’re better now at identifying it. Diagnoses of ADHD have increased dramatically since the 1980s. In the 1990s and the early 2000s, we saw a lot of changes with regard to diagnosis and recommendations for diagnosis. Treatment modalities have also changed; pharmacological medications have become more specific and better at managing the disorder. Alongside of that, those working with ADHD patients, mainly psychiatrists and psychologists, have been recommending a multi-modal approach that incorporates behavioural therapy and often family therapy as well. What are some of the challenges faced by people with ADHD? We’re trying to make people with ADHD fit into a world that isn’t designed for them. It is particularly noticeable in the school environment. When it comes to dental offices, certain accommodations can happen to make their appointments more enjoyable from both a patient and a health care provider perspective. This applies to managing both your adult and pediatric patients in the dental office. The webinar offers quick and easy tips that are going to help you manage and work with these patients better so that the entire experience is more enjoyable. What is your webinar’s take-home message? To appreciate that patients coming to your practice are people who just so happen to have ADHD. Their disorder is not what defines them; it’s only one aspect of their personality. Be understanding, patient and empathetic, and follow the dos and don’ts for working with Many oral care professionals may be caught off guard when treating patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), not knowing how to appropriately care for these patients, or how to support them in establishing and maintaining an optimal at-home oral health care routine. Lisa Mayo, director of the dental hygiene program at Concorde Career College in San Antonio, Texas, discusses managing dental patients with ADHD in a webinar available on the Colgate Oral Health Network website. The course, titled WhyWon’t He Sit Still? …Because He Can’t! offers different strategies and tools to better accommodate these patients in dental settings and make appointments enjoyable to patients and dental team members alike. We asked Lisa to share some insights with us. LisaMayo lisa_dowst@ hotmail.com This interviewhasbeeneditedand condensed. Theviewsexpressedarethoseofthe authoranddonotnecessarilyreflect theopinionsorofficialpoliciesofthe CanadianDentalAssociation.