Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello everyone
I recently took the plunge to see the dentist after 7 years due to me getting really bad tooth ache after ingoring the fact that I have broken my tooth last april when holiday and never went to get it looked at and removed it because I generally don't like the fact that you have to pay for treatment e.t.c also I have had bad experiences with dentist in the past so If I have to go it has to been with a special needs dentist and the one I saw yesterday became my go to dentist person and see will be doing all the treatment I need like a tooth removal, a filling and clean but the dentist person is going to be building me up to the tooth removal stage and by doing minor treatments to get me used to what going on and what the person is like.
Has anyone esle had issues with dentist or struggle to see a Special Needs ones and what are your thoughts on the dentist and autism situation.
the Dentist has been my number one issue in terms of healthcare issues for most of my adult life. Like you and many of the people who have responded I have spent much of my adult life actively avoiding the dentist.
I originally started avoiding them because no matter how much effort i put into cleaning my teeth the feedback was was always that my teeth and gums were in a bad state and I needed to try harder. They could never explain why various things were advised and what i was doing wrong. They would then 'clean' my teeth, causing them to hurt for days when they didn't hurt when i went in the dentist in the first place.
20 years later due to encouragement from my partner I signed up to a dentist again. Same problems but now with an added one, they are so oversubscribed its hard to get appointments and the reception staff are so stressed out they are polite but hostile in their interactions meaning when the dentist asks me to book another appointment I try but the receptionist challenges me on every detail, i tend to panic and flee the place without another appointment.
I did look for an autism friendly dentist via the NHS, but have had no luck at all. I have tried ringing other local dentists but it seems being confrontational and unhelpful is written in the job description for reception staff now, they answer my questions with questions back at me, challenging everything i say.
My teeth and gums are pretty screwed at this point but i cannot find a solution, I hope others have more luck!
Hello my Friend if it is ok with you I will make an appointment next wk with my Dentist and see if he can give me some good advice for you and I will try and find out about Autism friendly Dentists too if you are happy for me to try to help you in this way? Where is it you live so I can tell my Dentist. Hope you not mind my offer of help. Fluffy.
Helo Fluffy (great name!)
I welcome any advice anyone is able to give. I am in the Northamptonshire area.
Awesome Fluffy