Autism Support Group

My son won't even lay back in the chair. His last experience was very difficult on my husband. They strapped him down and gave him meds so he wouldn't remember, but he screamed the whole time.

The dentist again needs to do work on my son and they want to medicate him again so he won't remember, regardless of the fact that he will scream through the whole visit because "most kids do."

I'm not ok with that. Now, this dr will do his work through the OR and put him to sleep to get it done. I'm leaning towards that being what I want, but is it because I really think that that's what's best for my son, or to make it easier on myself and hubby? I'm torn. I try to listen to my gutt and I really truely and honestly believe that medicating him and strapping him down would be like torturing my son.

The last dentist we went to tried to get my son to lay back without medicatiing him and he recognized his anxiety and said that knocking him out to do the work was the way to go and recommended it to me.

I am just looking for others who have had a similar experience to share that experience with me.

Thanks!!

We have not had to have the kind of dental work, on our children, other than regular cleaning and they do fine. We made sure to take them to several of our appointments, prior to when they got to the age where they were needing to go.

However, the boys needed some surgery that all they were going to do was knock them out. They were not going to give them an amnesiac to make sure and wipe their memories clear of the experience.

I told them they were not going to do the surgery unless they gave the boys an amnesiac because, to this day, I have nightmares of a surgery that was performed, on me, when I was about 2.

If your child has to be tied down to the chair, opt for them putting him out instead, but be sure they give that amnesiac!!!!

Oh yeah, been there! My son David (6 years old) had to have a cavity filled. It was more traumatic than it would be for a typical child, but we got through it okay.

Do you see a pediatric dentist or a general dentist? Ours is a pediatric dentist, so it's a very kid-friendly office to begin with. Additionally, he has some specialized training in working with special needs kids and has one dental assistant who has an autistic son herself. They have always been just wonderful with David.

David is very high functioning, so we decided to try first with laughing gas. One thing that we hadn't anticipated was the smell of the gas; it had a very strong bubble-gummy smell and David just couldn't stand it long enough to let it take effect. We decided to reschedule and try again. But... David had it in his head that he had a "tooth bug" that needed to get fixed. He was not about to leave until that happened, but he refused to take the laughing gas, so he had a tantrum for the next hour. This was where it was really great to be working with people who are understanding of special needs. They just gave him space to work it out, and when he felt a little better they let him go out a back door and sit on the back porch of the building, and someone watched him while I brought our car around. They even called me an hour later to make sure we got home okay and find out how he was doing.

For the second appointment, the dentist consulted with our pediatrician about using a sedative (I think Valium) to just make him a little calmer long enough for the gas to work. In the end, he didn't need it. After the first appointment, they had given me the pink rubbery-thing that goes over your face for the laughing gas, and we practiced with that before the second appointment. He wasn't happy about it, and he did have to have some kind of apparatus to help him hold his mouth open, but after practicing he was able to tolerate the laughing gas and get through it without any other drugs.

Don't expect everyone to be as great as our dentist has been, but there are people out there who are just wonderful with autistic kids and willing to work with their special needs. I hope your dentist is one of them. David does not have any ill-effects from the experience. Our dentist also goes to our church, so we see him every week. David knows who he is, and he says hello and talks to him. It also worked well for David to have a small "treat" to look forward to after it was all over. At the end of the appointment, we took him to WalMart and bought a small "Cars" playset that he'd been wanting, so that took his mind off everything else.

You know your son better than anyone, so don't be afraid to push for what he needs or find someone who's willing to work with you. Good luck!

That sounds a little like my Alex. He wasn't comfortable at all with the gas mask on his face. We tried to warm up to the idea. The Valium is wht they said they would use, but I just don't think it's gonna keep him from screaming. I can't put him through that. My Alex is also high-functioning.

The thing in his mouth was a huge problem too. He has a sensitive gag reflex and couldn't keep it in his mouth. So, I can at least say we tried.

We use a general anesthetic (at the hospital) for dental work. It is best for my son.

I know they say the medication they give at the offices makes the kids not remember, but that does NOT completely undo the effects of the extreme stress he is under while he is screaming through the appointment. Unremembered stress can sometimes cause a person to be generally stressed without knowing or being able to say why. You are right to prefer surgery.

You know what is best for your son. The fact that you don't like to listen to him scream does NOT make you selfish, it just makes you sensitive to his needs.

I hope things go well with the surgery.

grandma k here---

Dilon, my grandson, age 7 clamps his mouth and there is no way to get in there. In order for an examination he had to medication to sleep so that he could have 8 teeth capped; of which my daughter is condersiding haveing removed due to the metals. So, will probably need to go thru the same thing.

I took my son in last week to get stitches in his mouth. They gave him the kids valium, but he still screamed the whole time. They also told us he wouldn't remember, but that does not help when he is laying there crying and screaming. Trust your instincts!

The main risk of most surgery is the general anaesthetic. To be honest it disturbs me a bit the idea that such a potentially lethal option is so casually adopted - not just once but regularly, and on small children. Then again, strapping a kid down and stressing them right out sounds too much like old-school ABA to be tolerable either. What's in the amnesiac drugs? Not saying I have an alternative and if a dental problem is causing great pain or infection then it must be dealt with - there just seems to be a lack of 'age-appropriate' options and that sucks.

Post edited by: Swampsong, at: 02/04/2009 17:56

Thanks!