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Special needs dentistry, at your child's pace
Some children need more from a dental visit than a smaller chair. They need a team that plans around how they experience the world: the sounds, the lights, the pace, the people. That is what special needs dentistry means at Aloha, and it has been part of our care for over 50 years.
Our board-certified pediatric dentists have special training and experience caring for children with special needs, including children with physical, behavioral, and developmental challenges. We plan each visit with you in advance, work at your child's pace, and offer sensory hours: appointments in a quieter office, with less stimulation and extra time, for children with autism, ADHD, or sensory sensitivities.
If you have been typing searches like "special needs dentist near me," "sensory friendly dentist," or "pediatric dentist autism" and finding offices that change nothing about the visit, this page is the specifics: what we cover, how a visit is structured, and what you can ask us to adjust.
What does special needs dentistry cover?
Special needs dentistry is complete dental care, delivered differently. What changes is the planning, the pacing, and the room.
Complete care, delivered differently
The care itself is the same care we give every child: exams and cleanings, fluoride and sealants, fillings and crowns, laser dentistry, and emergency care when something can't wait.
Children who don't fit a standard appointment
We care for children with autism, children with ADHD or sensory sensitivities, and children with physical, behavioral, and developmental challenges.
When the dentist has felt impossible
Children whose anxiety, or a hard visit somewhere else, has made the dentist feel impossible are welcome here. All three of our offices are wheelchair-accessible.
If your child is autistic, our guide to taking an autistic child to the dentist walks through how visits work here, step by step, including the checklist other parents helped us build.
What are sensory hours?
Sensory hours are appointments set aside for children with autism, ADHD, or sensory sensitivities. During a sensory-hours visit, the office is quieter, there is less stimulation, and extra time is built in, so your child can settle in and nothing has to be rushed.
Sensory hours are available at all three of our offices, and they are arranged by phone rather than online booking. That is deliberate. The call is where the planning happens: you tell us what your child finds hard, what has helped before, and what a good visit would look like, and we shape the appointment around it before you arrive.
One of our parents, Carla, described it this way:
"My son is autistic and we have had a great experience at Aloha. They have "sensory hours" where they adjust the office to be less stimulating/quieter for kids and build in extra time for kids. I really appreciated that experience. I was so nervous about my son going to the dentist but he walked away very happy without any issues which was amazing."
For more on how these visits work and what you can request in advance, see our guide to sensory-friendly dental visits.
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How is a visit structured for a child with special needs?
It starts before you walk in. When you call, tell us about your child: their diagnosis, what bothers them most, what helps them settle, and how they communicate. We prepare the team and the room around what you tell us.
A first visit can ask very little of your child. It can be a get-to-know-you visit: meet the team, look around the office, sit in the chair if they're willing, and leave while it is still going well. Dentists call this gradual path desensitization. Short, successful visits make real treatment possible later. Our first visits page explains how first appointments work for every child.
From there, visits grow at your child's pace:
- The same provider stays with your child wherever possible, so each visit starts with a familiar face.
- Each step is explained before it happens, in plain words. Your child gets a simple way to signal "stop," and everyone in the room honors it.
- Examinations and treatment can be broken into shorter sessions when that is what your child can manage.
- You stay part of the visit. Parents and caregivers are welcome with their child, and we plan together at every stage.
What if my child needs more support?
Planning and pacing carry most children a long way. When they are not enough, there are other paths, and we will talk through each one with you honestly.
- Nitrous oxide. A safe, carefully monitored option that helps an anxious child relax in the chair. It wears off a few minutes after the appointment.
- Sedation. For children who need more dental work than they can comfortably do awake, sedation is a conversation we have with you, never a default. Our sedation dentistry page explains how it works and how your child is monitored throughout.
- Silver diamine fluoride (SDF). A liquid painted onto a tooth that can stop or slow an early cavity without drilling. It is a good option for very young or anxious children. It does leave a dark stain on the treated spot, and we will explain that trade-off before you decide. Our guide to silver diamine fluoride covers how it works.
Nothing on this list happens without your consent. The goal is the least treatment that keeps your child's teeth healthy, in the way your child can manage.
Questions parents ask us
Find answers to common questions parents have about special needs dentistry.
How do you help children with sensory sensitivities during dental visits?
Do you offer sedation for special needs patients?
Can I stay with my child during treatment?
How often should a child with special needs visit the dentist?
What should I tell you before our first visit?
Guides for parents
- Taking an autistic child to the dentist — how visits work here, and the checklist parents of autistic children asked us to publish.
- Sensory-friendly dental visits — what sensory hours change, and how to prepare for one.
- Tongue tie in children: how to know, and how to decide — an evaluation guide, including the questions parents ask about tongue tie, autism, and ADHD.
Our three offices
Sensory hours are available at every office, arranged by phone.
South Berkeley
2640 Telegraph Ave, #101, Berkeley, CA 94704.
Call 510-848-6494 to ask about a sensory-hours visit at this office,
or see our South Berkeley location page.
North Berkeley
906 Ensenada Ave, Berkeley, CA 94707.
Call 510-528-1546 to ask about a sensory-hours visit at this office,
or see our North Berkeley location page.
Orinda
3 Altarinda Road, #210, Orinda, CA 94563.
Call 925-253-8190 to ask about a sensory-hours visit at this office,
or see our Orinda location page.
Start with a phone call
If you are not sure where to begin, begin there. Tell us about your child, ask us the hard questions, and we will plan a first step together, even if that first step is only a short visit to say hello.
New patients are welcome at all three of our offices:
We look forward to welcoming your family to our ʻohana.