Students Chosen for Honors Program Focusing on Patients with Disabilities

Two fourth-year students have been selected to be part of the Special Care Dentistry Honors program, a new effort that focuses on treating patients with disabilities.

Siddhi Shah and Melissa Ciandella will be involved with an interdisciplinary curriculum that includes collaborative work with students and faculty from the Rutgers School of Social Work and the School of Public Health, said Vice Dean Dr. Kim Fenesy.

The honors program was established last year with one student, graduate Chelsea Rajagopalan, who went on to pursue a residency at the Helen Hayes Hospital for patients with disabilities.  This year, two students were chosen for the honors program. 

RSDM has one of the few special care clinics in the region, The Delta Dental of New Jersey Special Care Center, that treats patients with physical and mental disabilities, including cerebral palsy, autism and behavioral disorders. It also specializes in geriatric patients.

Both Shah and Ciandella said they sought to concentrate on special needs patients due to the widespread lack of dental care for the disabled, mostly because many providers don’t know how to treat them. “From my encounters with special-needs patients through the years, I’ve seen providers at all levels hesitate to offer them care,” said Ciandella. “These patients require unique accommodations and treatment planning considerations, and many providers simply don’t have the training needed to approach these complex cases."

Said Shah, “The disparity that the special needs populations suffers is ever growing. Due to the stigma associated with the population, many patients don't get the care they deserve,’’ said Shah, who hopes to specialize in pediatric dentistry with a focus on special needs patients.

The students said the experience would equip them to be better providers, no matter what type of practice or speciality they ultimately choose. “All patients, irrespective of disorder or disability, deserve a compassionate and able doctor who is going to give them the highest standard of care to address their needs,’’ said Shah. “I can help provide a solution.’’

Added Ciandella, “In my own career as a general dentist, my goal is to be prepared and able to provide care to special needs patients. When a patient requiring special accommodations comes to my practice, I aspire to be able to assess their needs, and treat or refer them effectively.”