Dentist Time

[Freakie]

Hey!

My doctor found a cavity in my son...well its going to be his first visit to the dentist..any advice is welcomed..i have been looking for a "special needs" dentist and found one..but i need advice about talking to him without scareing him....help help help!!!! (he is 9):)

[pimmy]

Sarah (9 years) has had allot of work done in her mouth. From cavities, a cap, root canals two of them, and even had to have a baby tooth removed. What we did was allot of reading simple story books, we also bought one of those cheap electric tooth brushes so she could feel what it would be like in her mouth. We also went to the dentist a few times before any actual procedures were done on her. We went to a special needs dentist, too. They let her sit in the chair, look at the x-ray machine, get use to her surroundings. Played with all of the hoses and water guns. They were totally understanding of her, and the sensory issues that she has. Really who does like to go to the dentist anyway? They also gave us some pretend "tools" to play with to take home, from a plastic pic, and mirrors, and long tube, you know like the ones they use to vacuum all the extra water out. Sarah had allot of anxiety for the first couple of times she went. I told them not use use any negative words with her, and to praise her up and down. We had to go for a few months to have all the work done. Originally we discussed on having it all done in the hospital under a general, but decided, that I didn't want her to remember a hospital visit badly and to be sedated since I didn't know how she would react to that, and throughout her lifetime, she will always have to get use to going to a dentist. The dentist that we used was terrific and so was Sarah, they didn't use words like drilling, or shot, or blood, anything that Sarah would be afraid of. They were awesome. They used the laughing gas at first, then some gel to numb the gums and then the novcaine. The dentist worked as fast as she could on Sarah, with wonderful results. All in all, it took about 4 months of going, once every two weeks. She isn't thrilled about going back, but she knows that she has to brush and floss a few times a day now to keep ker teeth, pearly white. That's what they told her to do, and she has listened so far, that was last year and we have been back for regular check ups since, Sarah has been so proud of herself for not having any "brown spots" on her teeth. That's what we told her the cavities were, she saw them herself in the mirror. The last time we went we had a different kind of x-ray to determine when we will go the braces route. My luck to you....Jodi and Sarah

[Freakie]

Thanks so much for the advice..i wouldnt be suprised if he did great..i think i have more anxiety than he does!

[pimmy]

I had huge anxiety about it all, maybe because we had so much work done...Jodi

[mlwear]

We took our son to a pediatric dentist who specialized in special needs, in particular autism. This was a result of needing a cavity filled and two sealants which when tried at our reg. dentist he threw up on two different ocassions. :eek:
She explained that in the worst cases she has to use anesthisia at the hospital. But, first she tries nitrous oxide and her second method was a different sedative of some sort.
Well, the nitrous oxide worked! He now goes back to his regular dentist. He has had another tooth sealed and a cavity filled. Both times they used nitrous oxide without debate. It really surprised me to find that it made that big of a difference.
This thread is older, Freakie--if your son has gone to the dentist, I'd love to know how it went.

[HEART-OF-GOLD]

Hi freakie
How did it go:eek: i have problems getting my son to visit the dentists, although he won`t clean his teeth, they seem in good shape, although i have to make him clean them....inwhich as always been another problem in the morning and evening:confused:

he will not tolerate the thought of sitting in the dentists chair, as he thinks their going to pull all his teeth out:eek: i try my best to reasure him that they will not! but they had to take 2 back teeth out, it as been a scary blip for him ever since!

Hope all went well
Tony.

[pimmy]

Wow what timing, I just took Sarah today for her 6 month check-up, I thought I saw a spot on one of her back teeth, but no cavities, yipee!...We have been cavity free for the last 3 check-ups, although I don't know what is in store for braces though, we keep checking her bite, she has what is called a cross bite, just like one of her brothers did. We will wait until they think it will not correct itself, one of my boy's corrected itself, the other's didn't, when all of the adult teeth, I guess line up or not....we will come to that bridge when we have to....Jodi and Sarah

[removals]

I have one son and I am shaking when I think about his first time in dentist. He was so much angry and loud with his cry that dentist almost become deaf:D

[Lisa S]

Catherine is going to need braces, but we are waiting for a couple of teeth to come in first. I'm really nervous about how she will deal with it.

We are thinking about using the regular orthodontist in town. A special one for children with special needs is available, but pretty far away. I don't know whether the drive would be worth it.

[pimmy]

Sarah will need braces as well, I, too have some concerns, especially the sensory ones, the pain that comes with them, I had them when I was younger, I do know that they have changed, but still painful when the teeth are shifting. She understands that she needs them, we have been talking it over with her, and have been showing her pictures of one of her brothers when he was younger, his head gear, for his cross bite, the palate expander. Luckily in school, she has some friends that are going through the same thing, although they aren't autistic, but she see's them with them on. We take Sarah to a specialist for her dental care, and she has recommened a specialist for the braces as well, it's about close to an hour to drive to get to her, but for us, it is well worth it. The dentist use to be 15 minutes to us, but she opened her own practice, and Sarah just loves her, so we followed her when she moved. For us, Sarah not being afraid to go to the dentist, Dr. Tina, who has done alot of work on Sarah's teeth, (cavities filled, a root canal with cap, a tooth pulled), seems trivial, but Sarah still likes her, Dr. Tina takes all the time that Sarah needs, it's well worth the drive. So I will go on her recommendation to the orthodontist, that she knows...Jodi and Sarah

[mlwear]

Good luck. I have an earlier post about the miracle of nitrous oxide. We have continued to use it with great success for minor dental work.
Austin will need braces, too. A lot of kids here (my older son included) had the whole phase one then phase two thing. We still have some time, but I think I am going to insist they manage with just one go around and do their best. Luckily his aren't terrible -- but they do need some work.
I would try the consult with the nearby orthodontist and see what he/she says. My older son's asked a lot of questions about sensory issues and anxiety and made notes on his chart. The local ortho may have some experience with special needs. At the consult, you will see if she is comfortable there and the attitude of the staff in general.
A long drive is going to be tough when a wire pops out or some other minor "need to come right in" incident happens -- and it will a few times.

[StrictNon-Confo]

I got braces - after I was an adult, moved away from home, and did it on my own resources. My parents just didn't have dental insurance when I was growing up, so that went lacking far too long.

Other than braces, another thing you'll eventually have to think about (if braces are necessary, chances are this will be, too) is getting wisdom teeth out. Before I got braces, first I had them out, a notable amount of time beforehand. I'd had a long pent-up need for dental work, having a severely decayed adult tooth, and (believe it or not) a baby tooth, still, at the age of 21, which is NOT a good thing. That, and 3 wisdom teeth (I'm not sure if the last one ever erupted enough to be worth counting) which were acting up. A good indicator that I needed the wisdom teeth out is that I felt better a couple hours after I got out, after the novocaine (or whatever it was) wore off, than before I went in: it was that irritating. I wonder how many on the spectrum are bothered by such an issue, which isn't clearly visible to the untrained eye, unless you look carefully in their mouths (which may be an adventure all by itself, admittedly).

I urge you for everyone's sake to find some form of toothpaste and brush combination that works without too much fuss for the sensory issues: it'll already be more difficult to brush in the best of circumstances, and then there's the added metal/plastic/whatever of the braces issue, and one that may also be an issue (at least until things are set properly) the epoxy used to glue them on.

During the process of the braces, I also had jaw surgery to bring my lower jaw 7 mm forwards and 1.5 mm to one side, which has left me having things feel a little bit odd for the resting bite. Then again, since things never meshed properly, it never felt quite right (at least what I'd like to think is "right"). Oh: tuna fish isn't easy to put through a blender and then suck through a straw! :D If it comes down to also jaw surgery, the food thing will be a real issue to look at, too. Between lactose intolerance, etc. it was all I could do to find food I could manage to ingest (sucking through a straw) for even the short time (< 2 weeks) where my jaw was rubber-banded completely shut, and the time afterwards when it was still greatly restricted. I lost enough weight very quickly that I was actually able to walk out of my pants without unbuttoning them. Sadly, it wasn't a useful way to lose weight: people that intentionally get their jaws wired shut to lose weight are complete morons (yes, there are people that have done that: I saw it documented on TV many years ago).

[Lisa S]

Thanks so much for the replies. I already took Catherine for a consultation with our local orthodontist. She said that we needed to wait for a tooth to come out and for her other upper cuspid to come in. The tooth came out, but her other cuspid is just coming in. I don't think that this orthodontist uses nitrous oxide, but it would be a very good thing for me to ask, even though I personally had a bad reaction to it.

Catherine has a serious overbite and she also has her right cuspid coming in on top of her lateral incisor, which is the reason her dad needed braces too. The plan would be to pull two of her top teeth (bicuspids, I think) to make room to pull her cuspid to the correct position and to pull in her top front teeth. She will also need braces on her bottom teeth, but she won't need any teeth pulled.

The orthodontist suggested putting in the lower braces first to see how Catherine tolerates them, then pulling the teeth and putting in the top braces later. She said that she could do just a few teeth at a time, as Catherine tolerated it. She said metal braces would be thinner and therefore less irritating. Catherine uses a papoose board for some dental work if needed by her pediatric dentist. The local orthodontist is willing to obtain one, although she does not have one now. If necessary, she could work with another dentist or doctor, if Catherine needs to be unconscious for any procedure. She has some experience with special needs patients, but not much experience specifically with autistic children. I think she wrote a paper on dealing with orthodontia in children with Down Syndrome.

My husband had all four wisdom teeth removed in his twenties, but I had my bottom two removed in my twenties and the top two removed in my thirties, because they had not come down far enough to be removed when I was in my twenties. I drank lots of milkshakes and ate soup and jello for both times.

Catherine uses an electric toothbrush and kids' toothpaste and does pretty well with it, but it is going to be a lot harder with braces, I assume.