Autistic boy with cavities....

[AuntRayRay]

Hi mama's

My 7yr old son has cavities and tooth decay. I've taken him to the dentist and they said they want to fill the cavities in two weeks. It is so hard because Ronny doesn't talk and is terrified of Dr.'s and sharp objects. I had to forcfully hold him in the chair while the dentist looked and cleaned his teeth. I really believe in part he has these cavities and decay because he's not "healthy"....when we were seeing a DAN doctor we had some tests done on Ronny and they showed he had high metals and that it appeared his body was getting rid of everything when he went to the bathroom including good nutrients. I really couldn't afford this Dr. or the tests and couldn't go further with it. He has also been a picky eater and if given candy will "chomp" them right away. I of course don't have those things in my house, but it happens.(party's etc..) Anyway, I'm concerned about having his cavities filled. Are the fillings ok? And is there anything I can do for him before or during? He doesn't understand and he's sooo terrified next visit is going to be harder now that he knows. It's strange because my oldest (whose is only 18months apart) doesn't have any cavities, but Ronny does. I do feel guilty of course...like I should have prevented this for my son. All he knows is that his teeth hurt and I'm holding him down and letting this strange guy hurt him more...I wish i could get him to understand...maybe a video or book?

RayRay

[shelbean91]

The only thing I can suggest is to have general anesthia during the procedure. I'm trying to figure out how to get my 3 year old back to the dentist- it's been over a year since a checkup- but he's getting worse and worse in dr office situations.

Good luck.

[AuntRayRay]

I had asked the dentist office about sedating him and they said they don't do that (not that i like that either). They mentioned some sort of gas that he wouldn't feel pain and something that straps his arms down. It sounds like a nightmare and "I" know whats going on. I know what you mean about having a hard time getting him into Dr situations...since he was small he's been scared of the Dr.'s. So I've tried to avoid them whenever possible, but anytime I've had to take him for a physical or something...its horrible. He won't sit on the table/chair and last physical I had to practically rip his shirt from him and he was sooo resistant. Now that he's older and bigger its very hard for me to physically handle him. Of course its worse for him emotional...he's scared to death.
Shelbean91-good luck to you as well...its so difficult sometimes

RayRay

[shelbean91]

The gas they're probably talking about is nitrous oxide. It's the 'happy gas'. I don't know if it would be enough or not. My ds, before getting the autism dx, had to have his hearing tested- he needed to be put under.

[Altair]

the gas might help-- if anything, it might calm his anxiety. i can imagine for an autistic boy the sensory overload of a dentist office is just horrible. (i am an ASD teacher). is he sensitive to sensory input? i would think of each separately.

vision-- the bright lights in his eyes would feel like lightening to him. can he wear sunglasses? would he be more comfortable with a sleep eye mask? (speaking of, how verbal is he? can he express these preferences with you?)

sound-- the drills will sound really loud to him. can he wear headphones of a favoite type of music or white noise? at least ear muffs.

touch-- does he ever use a weighted vest? brushing? deep pressure? does he have an OT? the OT might have suggestions for what type of sensory input he needs.

in any case, depending on how verbal he is i would talk to him about what was going to happen over and over and over. I'd role-play it with all the sensory input. I'd experiement with him what the most soothing input was. I'd write a social story about going to the dentist. visit the office on a day he's not getting the procedure for a test run (if he's interested).

are you using a pediatric dentist? pediatric dentists sometimes have TV/video games or other distractions.

[AuntRayRay]

Originally Posted by Altair

the gas might help-- if anything, it might calm his anxiety. i can imagine for an autistic boy the sensory overload of a dentist office is just horrible. (i am an ASD teacher). is he sensitive to sensory input? i would think of each separately.

vision-- the bright lights in his eyes would feel like lightening to him. can he wear sunglasses? would he be more comfortable with a sleep eye mask? (speaking of, how verbal is he? can he express these preferences with you?)

sound-- the drills will sound really loud to him. can he wear headphones of a favoite type of music or white noise? at least ear muffs.

touch-- does he ever use a weighted vest? brushing? deep pressure? does he have an OT? the OT might have suggestions for what type of sensory input he needs.

in any case, depending on how verbal he is i would talk to him about what was going to happen over and over and over. I'd role-play it with all the sensory input. I'd experiement with him what the most soothing input was. I'd write a social story about going to the dentist. visit the office on a day he's not getting the procedure for a test run (if he's interested).

are you using a pediatric dentist? pediatric dentists sometimes have TV/video games or other distractions.

Well Ronny isn't very verbal so no he can't communicate what he would prefer. As far as the vision well I could try the sunglasses, but I don't think he'll be in a tolerable mood what so ever and will probably protest everything at that point (except leaving). Same with sounds and earphones...usually he doesn't care for anything covering or touching his ears for that matter. He thinks your going to pierce them. He has had weighted vests and brushing in OT therapy in the past. I am going to call the OT before the appointment. The dentist is a pediatric dentist and "say's" he has had autistic patients before but besides that he wasn't very talkative and I didn't see any TV's either. I am hoping the gas will help anxiety, but his anxiety is going to be sooo high just when he sees the office. And I'm even expecting a problem just to get him into the office. He went and had his teeth cleaned there..no pain (that I think) and he was still a mess and wanting to get out of that office as quick as possible. Thanx for the ideas...

RayRay

[JaneS]

You asked if the fillings are okay... as long as they are the white ones...since you didn't specify I want to mention not to get the "silver" fillings, which are over half mercury. Many people, myself included, believe autism is mercury poisoning.

Did the DAN dr. prescribe a treatment plan?

[AuntRayRay]

Originally Posted by JaneS

You asked if the fillings are okay... as long as they are the white ones...since you didn't specify I want to mention not to get the "silver" fillings, which are over half mercury. Many people, myself included, believe autism is mercury poisoning.

Did the DAN dr. prescribe a treatment plan?

Hi Jane...
Yes I've heard that the silver ones where made of mercury and definately won't allow them to put them in. The Dan Dr. had my son on a bunch of supplements and was talking about chelation the last time we had been, but the money was just too much for us. She had also wanted to see test results of one of the tests she had us do, but since we didn't pay the bill they never released the results. I still owe the $ from probably about two years ago actually. I also believe in the mercury poisoning theory as well. I don't buy or eat tuna and of course we don't vax either.

RayRay

[Finch]

Aw, bless his heart. My son has SID and is possibly autistic, and I have full intention of having him mildly sedated for the dentist. His sensory issues are severe. If you are comfortable with it, request some mild to moderate sedation. As for the fillings, I believe the mercury/metals theories too (the CDC can bite my butt), and don't blame you for being cautious. If they're the white kind of fillings, though, I *think* those are silicone or something similar, with no metal at all, so they should be okay.

[JaneS]

Okay, whew re: fillings!

If you want to consider pursuing chelation yourself, join the Yahoo Autism-Mercury group. http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Autism-Mercury/

Most chelate according Andrew Hall Cutler's book www.noamalgam.com. His "low and slow" method of chelation can be much safer than the methods of other DAN doctors.

Group files and archives here:
http://home.earthlink.net/~moriam/
http://onibasu.com/archives/am/date_index_1.html

More info on asd including chelation here www.danasview.net

Dr. Amy Holmes uses this method as well. http://www.healing-arts.org/children/holmes.htm

The DMSA and ALA that are used for chelation are not expensive. However, the minerals, vitamins and other supplements to support it can be. (Chelation depletes minerals and kicks up digestive issues b/c of the metals moving out thru the gut.)

Also, there is also 2 diet/nutritional approaches in the Autism community for natural chelation: www.pecanbread.com (the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, which we are both on for gut healing)
and www.bodyecologydiet.com

DS is not on the spectrum but has huge digestive and sleep issues and some sensory problems. I suspect mercury is the problem from my fillings (I've had similar problems since most of them were placed 12 years ago). I have had them all out recently by safe protocol and are waiting for hair tests to come back to see what is going on with both of us. I will probably chelate before ttc a second babe. Not so sure about chelating DS.