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Special Health Care Needs
The purpose of this case report is to present a pediatric patient with dextrocardia and document the dental management. In the simplest form, dextrocardia is a rare congenital heart disease in which the patient’s apex of the heart is pointed to the right side of the chest instead of the left that appears in the first weeks of pregnancy. Frequent dental follow-up visits are recommended to monitor oral hygiene, dietary habits, and caries risk due to impact of possible dental infection on patient’s overall health. Communication with the patient’s primary care physician and cardiologist is necessary to update patient’s medical history, list of medications, and recommendations prior to dental treatment. Pediatric dentists are essential in setting up a dental home for medically complex patients who need more frequent recall appointments and can educate parents/patients on dietary habits and OHI for a better, quality of life in order to prevent patients from going under general anesthesia again. A case report of a 6-year-old male with dextrocardia is presented along with other heart defects.