Dentist appointments may not be something you spend a lot of time
thinking about unless you are anticipating an appointment for a child
who is autistic.
Though you may never be able to anticipate exactly how
an appointment will go, you can make some strategic moves to create the
best situation possible for your child. Choosing a dentist, getting to
know the provider, and discussing a plan and expectations before each
appointment will help things to go smoothly.
In this situation, you cannot just choose someone blindly to medically
care for your child. There needs to be some carful selecting and some
serious consulting before a decision is made. Autistic children are
known to have what experts call “safe people,” and you definitely want a
person such as a dentist to be on the list of people that your child
trusts. Before booking an appointment, you should certainly have a
consultation appointment with the doctor not only to explain and discuss
your situation, but to also allow your child time to get to know the
doctor. For any child the dentist can be a stressful experience, but for
the autistic child a new, unanticipated, and intrusive experience can
affect all future patient/doctor relationships. One bad experience sets
the tone for a lifetime.
You should also learn to take the process tiny step by tiny step. For
most, a general check up and cleaning is a twice a year event that may
take thirty minutes out of a day. A child who falls anywhere on the
spectrum of an autism diagnosis will need the power to dictate what can
and cannot be done. The first appointment may be a meet and greet, while
the second may consist of getting used to the chair and learning the
names of the tools. A third appointment idea is for the perspective
little patient to observe your regular check up or that of another
sibling. Just be sure that you provide a safe person to go along on the
trip as the child could feel helpless and out of control to see you
undergo the check up. Because of the child’s social deficit, he or she
may struggle with understanding that the dentist is not hurting you or
holding you down against your will. You will need back up for this
appointment, and back up for all future appointments is certainly a good
idea.
As the child finally eases into full blown checkups, it is still
important to have open communication with the staff at the office. Ask
them to flag your child’s records and to be wary of any changes that may
have been made in the office environment or procedure protocol since
the last visit. These types of things certainly need to be taken
seriously on behalf of your little patient.
