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Updated: Nov 5, 2025
Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
Considerations for Protective Stabilization in Community General Dental Practice for Adult Patients with Special
Sydnee E Chavis1, Erica Wu2, Stephanie M Munz3
1Private Practice limited to Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.
Abstract:
Protective stabilization (PS) is a method of medical restraint used for behavior management for children and adults with special needs for dental care. With the increase in availability and options for behavior management techniques, PS has become less popular and more controversial. This scoping review analyzes the use of PS for dental care for adults with special needs within the literature.
Methods:
A review of publications between 1990 and 2020 was conducted in Ovid Medline, Embase, and Dentistry and Oral Sciences Source using the search terms as follows: "protective stabilization," "dentistry," "restraint," "patient positioning," and "immobilization," with Boolean operators "AND" and "OR." Articles were screened by title and abstract and included by full read review with consensus from the research team.
Results:
A total of 298 articles were reviewed and 29 were included as part of the scoping review. The articles include original research, policy guidelines, and clinical commentary reviews.
Conclusion:
There is variable evidence regarding the use of PS as a method of behavioral management for adults with special needs. It is less popular for use due to improvements in alternative methods such as pharmacologic intervention and general anesthesia. PS still has applicable use among this population and is dependent on patient and parental consent, patient selection and safety, and clinician training.
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