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Dentist - possible sedation

FAB29

My son (12) finds it so difficult to open his mouth for the dentist to check his teeth or to let her put any instruments in his mouth. She is worried about his teeth now and wants to give them a clean with her machinery. She has suggested sedating him or giving some kind of anaesthetic on next visit but I am worried about this for lots of reasons. She is a very kind caring dentist but he still finds it distressing. Does anyone have experience of this?  Thanks.

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  • Former Member
    Former Member

    My experience as a child was that the dentist' visit was always painful. It is common for people with autism to be extra sensitive to pain and to be sensitive/squeamish about thinking about the needles and drills. I avoided the dentist for many years as it had become a real phobia but it was a phobia based on bad experience rather than irrational fear. I remember them putting in multiple injections as it seemed that I was hard to anaesthetise.

    I wonder how "essential" this cleaning is?

    I learnt, as a late teen that flossing and the use of electric toothbrushes are both recommended - it was a dentist friend that educated me. I have recently added a "water-pick" to my toolbox for preventing problems. The other change was to stop drinking sweetened tea or coffee and avoiding sweet fizzy pop. Another dentist identified muesli as an evil - the dried fruit sticks between teeth and is very sweet and sticky and hard to remove.

    These measures have meant that I have survived 20 years between visits and the last visit revealed no cavities - I just needed an ancient filled tooth to be repaired.

    :-)

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  • Former Member
    Former Member

    My experience as a child was that the dentist' visit was always painful. It is common for people with autism to be extra sensitive to pain and to be sensitive/squeamish about thinking about the needles and drills. I avoided the dentist for many years as it had become a real phobia but it was a phobia based on bad experience rather than irrational fear. I remember them putting in multiple injections as it seemed that I was hard to anaesthetise.

    I wonder how "essential" this cleaning is?

    I learnt, as a late teen that flossing and the use of electric toothbrushes are both recommended - it was a dentist friend that educated me. I have recently added a "water-pick" to my toolbox for preventing problems. The other change was to stop drinking sweetened tea or coffee and avoiding sweet fizzy pop. Another dentist identified muesli as an evil - the dried fruit sticks between teeth and is very sweet and sticky and hard to remove.

    These measures have meant that I have survived 20 years between visits and the last visit revealed no cavities - I just needed an ancient filled tooth to be repaired.

    :-)

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