Sheri Shares Her Story About Her Autistic Son's First Dental Visit
Being a single mother with two boys is hard enough then you
add Autism into the mix and it gets darn right tough! Being in the dental field for several years I
was very conscientious of dental health and made sure I brushed my boys’ teeth
daily. When my oldest son was 4 I
finally took him in for an exam. It was
at the office I was currently working so he had met my boss, the dentist, and
my co-workers so I felt he would be very comfortable. It was an interesting visit but what the
x-rays showed was that he had cavities!
Yikes! How could this be?
I was so diligent about the brushing!
Well to my dismay because my son would not allow me to floss his teeth
and they were so tightly together he developed what is called “interproximal
decay” meaning cavities between his
teeth in the back. The dentist showed me
how I could get him to allow me to floss and from that visit forward he allowed
it. We scheduled an appointment for the
fillings and I kept my fingers crossed.The Nightmare Begins...
That weekend before his dental appointment he had spent it
with his father and I had asked his father to discuss with him that he needed
to be a brave boy and sit very still for the doctor to work on him. To my dismay his father told him flat out,
“They are going to give you a shot in your mouth and it is going to hurt!” I couldn't believe my ears! I asked him why on earth he told him that and
he stated he wasn't going to lie to him.
I tried to explain that dentistry has come a long way and that
injections don’t hurt as bad as they once did.
Usually you don’t even feel it.
Well, that was the beginning of a nightmare. My son, because of his autism wouldn't sit still
in a dental chair anymore. I ended up
going to 5 different specialists trying to find a dentist that would perform
the fillings without putting him completely out. No one would agree and by the time we finally
got him in with an office to do the fillings it had to be done at a hospital
under full anesthesia and the filling turned into a baby root canal and my son
ended up with a silver cap on his tooth!
That was the worst feeling in the world.
I felt like I had failed my son but, of course he loved his new special
tooth.
Dental Visits Today
Since that time my son has undergone in-home ABA therapy and
we have been able to deal with things that are stressors for him. He has since had a filling performed without
any anesthetic and gets his teeth cleaned regularly. He still gets nervous and uncomfortable, but when they tell him he has no cavities it gets a big smile out of him!
He is now 12 years old and has lost the tooth with the
silver cap and every now and again he wishes he could have it back! When the tooth fairy claimed that tooth it
fetched quite the reward.
Resources for Families Coping with Autism
I'd love to hear about your family's experience with Autism, please share!
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