SAN ANTONIO — The UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry opens a new special-care dental clinic. The clinic will serve people of all ages with medical complexities, and cognitive and physical disabilities.
It is called the Phil and Karen Hunke Special Care Clinic, San Antonio-area philanthropists who provided the money for the project. The clinic occupies 4,300 square feet on the first floor of the school's Center for Oral Health Care and Research and is a big deal for those with special needs.
"So many people go without care. Financial. Their resources. Or they're just afraid. So, coming into an environment like this is huge," said Trish Guerra whose 11-year-old son Brian has down's syndrome.
She says this clinic will be a gamechanger.
"Giving him the right resources and the right atmosphere, they're impactful to us as a family," Guerra said.
"Whether a patient needs dimming of the lights, a quiet space, or maybe they just need to be in a distraction free area we can accomodate that," said Dr. Jennifer Farrell the director of the UT Health School of Dentistry.
The clinic features seven dental treatment rooms. Five of the rooms are for conscious sedation treatment. It is designed to accommodate 40 special-needs patients per day, and will serve the community and provide training for students.
Dr. Farrell told us it also has something called a Zen Den.
"That Zen Den is a place where they can go and chill out for a few minutes and then come back for care," said Farrell.
Dr. Farrell said the clinic will serve two purposes.
"One, to get the patients' treatment needs met. And secondly to train providers so they can do this in their office," she said.
For more about what the clinic has to offer just click here.