Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello my name is Simon I have been diagnosed with autism recently and I am thinking about going to the dentist soon but I have a ginormous fear of the dentist I haven’t been since I was at school I have a bad tooth it’s got a big cavity and it’s black inside it doesn’t hurt and I brush my teeth 2 times a day and use mouthwash but I know I can’t put it of forever.
does anyone have any advice should I mention that I’m autistic would that help?
It might be worth asking your standard dentist to refer you to the Special Care Dental Services.
It was my medical phobias - and in particular dental treatment which lead to my discovery that I was autistic, in fact.
Special Care Dentists are experienced in dealing with all sorts of problems, from simple anxiety about dentists, to people with physical or learning disabilities, complex mental health issues and autism. They are very kind and patient. If necessary, they'd even do it under a general anesthetic for you, if it's the only way to get you through it.
They ought to know how to deal with both the anxiety about dentists and any sensory problems with the experience due to the autism.
They do have waiting lists. It's going to depend how urgent the problem is, as to whether your dentist can get you onto their books quickly enough to deal with your current problem. Hopefully, once you get a referral to them, they'll keep you as a permanent patient as they have with me.
Oh, just noticed this post is a year old. Hope that's still useful to some one.