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Dentistry ..... A fear of Hospitals.

Alec's Dad

Wonder if anyone else has solved this dentist problem ...??

Our 22yr old son has very limited speech and understanding - communicates in single words, tells us what he wants, knows what hurts, has a long memory etc. etc.

He needs several fillings and they need to be done under general anaesthetic.

Problem is ... 14 years ago he had milk teeth extracted under general anaesthetic in a hospital and he remembers that trauma. Now he WONT enter the hospital under any circumstances. No amount of persuasion, sweet talking, promise of tea-drinking in hospital cafe, showing pics of nice nurses/doctors etc. etc. will persuade him.

He will park in the car-park and walk to the door but he will NOT pass through the door.

We have discussed giving "heavy Pre-med" at home with the anaesthetist but that's not an option, they won't take the risk.

Can anyone suggest what might help? Has anyone on here ever had dental work done on a patient who refuses to cooperate??

  • omg this is so familiar my son is 23 this year and we have had this problem it just brings back so many memories. In 2011 xmas day i had to rush him to hospital thinking he had menigitis but turn out to be ITP and was hospitalised for 2 weeks , im a single parent with 3 other children and had to stay most of the time with my son in hospital it was so hard but luckily my other children were teenagers so they got there own dinners etc. They never understood why i was kicking off because he has moderate learning difficulties and he doesnt like change to his routine eventually he got his own private room . they also gave him needles and x rays after i went home at midnight when i actually asked if any other test were going to be done and they said no . the next morning i came in at 6 he was waiting for me in such a distressed state it was really bad

  • My son also had a traumatic experience at the hands of a Dr who did not understand asc and told my strapping 15year old to stop being a baby.  He has a fear of needles which was not handled very well.  Anyway he required further treatment and refused to go back.  In the end he wen t to hospital and had a general anaesthetic.  

    Getting him to go was a long slow process.  We requested several familiarity visits to see ward, recovery room and also anaethatist and learn about procedure.  On the day I rubbed an anaesthetic cream on his hand to numb it a bit as well.

    My advice would be to go to a different hospital to minimise fearful memories.  Do short visits to get to know the place and constantly reassure him.  

  • Thanks for the suggestion of "Happy Air", I'll propose it to the practitioners.

    There's going to be a problem with the mask though because he was anaesthetised last time with gas (general anaesthetic) and "the mask" is one think he's frightened of.

    Also, there are various warblings on the net about interactions between autistic people and nitrous oxide. This one is widely quoted:

     www.autism.com/.../pro_anesthesia

    It doesn't seem to offer any "proof" of an interaction, it just uses big words to sow Fear Uncertainty and Doubt

    I'm still really looking for a way to get him into the hospital or any experiences people have had where the patient HAD to have a general anaesthetic.

    Again , many thanks for shring your experiences.

  • Hi - my adult son had a complicated filling done at a specialist dental practice under sedation with a consultant dentist + others assisting.  He had "happy air" via a clear mask on his face + when he was very relaxed they put the cannula in.  He did notice but just lay back again (doesn't like needles at all).  We went in with him but after the cannula was in place we sat in the waiting room.  It took about 30 mins + then he had to sit down for a further 15 to make sure he was ok.  The they took the cannula out.  As the point of the needle was hidden from view by a small tube-like bandage + also because he was still a bit sleepy, it didn't bother him.  Have you asked about a specialist dental practice.  I don't know if he's ok going to the dentist or not.  We explained what wd happen in an easy to understand way a couple of times before we went.  My son quite likes seeing the dentist but mostly doesn't need anything done, apart from a polish now + again.