NSU CDM Lasting Impressions Spring 2019

26 | COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE FACULTY IMPRESSIONS FACULTY Impressions Professional and personal reasons inspired Romer Ocanto, D.D.S., M.S., professor and chair of the CDM’s Department of Pediatric Dentistry, to specialize in oral health for children. Ocanto came to the United States in 1981 for a residency in pediatric dentistry and dental public health at Boston University. From 1991 to 2001, he was an assistant professor at Creighton University School of Dentistry in Omaha, Nebraska. After joining the NSU CDM faculty, Ocanto was driven to do more when he started working at the Broward Children’s Center in Pompano Beach, Florida, treating children who had disabilities and who had survived accidents. He began pursuing federal grants to build a program at the CDM that would focus on children with special needs. Since 2007, Ocanto has secured more than $8 million toward improving dental care access for children with special health care needs. In 2008, the CDM opened a dental clinic at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, Florida, for children with special needs and their siblings. In 2010, the dental clinic at NSU’s Mailman Segal Center for Human Development opened, meeting a significant need for parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). From January 2016 through November 2018, 1,921 patients were treated at the clinic. Ocanto’s family influences began with his grand- father, who was a dentist. His career path was sealed, however, when a drowning accident took the life of his youngest daughter, Emma Juliana. He was cogni- zant that, had his daughter survived, she most likely would have had special needs. “I needed to do some- thing to honor her,” he said. His dedication to treating children with special needs, particularly children with ASD, brings daily challenges. Ocanto explained that children on the spectrum react differently to the environment and are hypersensitive to the smells, tastes, and noises often present in dental clinics. Consequently, this exacerbates their apprehensions and necessitates modifications in dental office procedures to gain their trust. STARTING STEPS “Every child on the spectrum is different. You cannot apply the same approach,” Ocanto said. “We know from a parent that the child doesn’t want to be touched this way, or doesn’t want you to stare at him, and we teach this to the residents. Some things we can’t change. But if we approach them differently, they might accept it.” Before the child’s visit, parents are given images of what children will see in a dental office to familiarize them. It is common for a child to refuse to sit in the dental chair during the first visit, preferring to retreat to a corner from which a parent cannot move the child. To help treat ASD patients, Ocanto often uses applied behavioral analysis (ABA), a branch of psychology focusing on human behavior analysis and modification examining the functional relationship between Dentistry Differently Providing Dental Services and Hope for Autistic Children BY CAROL BRZOZOWSKI “We know from a parent that the child doesn’t want to be touched this way, or doesn’t want you to stare at him, and we teach this to the residents. Some things we can’t change. But if we approach them differently, they might accept it.” —Romer Ocanto continued on page 28