I don’t think it matters what the procedure is or what surgery is needed, we parents are always worried about our children. I’ll be the first to admit that my anxiety levels peak when anything medical involves my kids. You’d think I’d be perfectly fine after my heart transplant with my husband, but that didn’t stop me from worrying.
I just wanted to share our experience with dental surgery and autism in the hope this helps parents who are preparing for an upcoming appointment and may be as worried as we are.
Dental Care and Autism
If you come here often, you know that my youngest has autism. Although he is much more communicative than he was a few years ago, his speech is still limited in some ways. Unless he’s talking about food, in which case he’s fluent (always thinking about his stomach).
When it comes to brushing our teeth, we’ve always been picky. twice a day. My older son used to love using an app that played songs while he brushed, and his dental hygiene has been excellent as he has grown.
Joben is a bit cunning. He didn’t like brushes around his mouth as a kid, but luckily we managed to get over that. Having said that, he didn’t spit out the toothpaste like you’re supposed to, so we had to give the brush a little bit of toothpaste or he’d swallow it.
terrible toothache
My youngest is eight years old now, and although he now knows he spits out the toothpaste now and will brush himself with a little help, the years of little toothpaste and incomplete cleaning have left a few cavities on his baby teeth.
It came to light when he started having a toothache, it took a lot of work to get my little man down, but it did take its toll on him. We all know how bad a toothache can be, it really wears you out, doesn’t it?
His toothache started to get worse so we made a dental appointment for him ASAP. After the examination, they prescribed him antibiotics and confirmed that he had several cavities. They were excellent enough to refer him to a dental center that specializes in special needs for further examination. Appointments come too fast!
Referral to a specialist dental center
We had a great first visit at Special Needs Dental Center. The staff at Joben are great. Dates are stressful for us, but really enjoyable for my kids. They explained everything to us and him and agreed that he needed to go to the hospital and have his tooth pulled. We could choose to wait 5-6 months to see how his pain relief goes, but we all know how terrible a toothache can be and I didn’t want my little man to suffer unnecessarily.
After signing the paperwork and booking the hospital referral, we knew we were doing the right thing for Joben. Although my anxiety was saying hello, I knew it had to be done.
Likewise, letters of recommendation arrive through the post office at the speed of light. So I kept it in my head until the day of the surgery. I’m such a stressed person hehe.
Preparing our autistic children for dental procedures
Since Joben follows a routine to function at his best, we had to prepare him mentally the night before so he could expect changes throughout the day. Otherwise the change would really upset him.
After midnight, Yoben lost his mouth and could only drink a few sips of water until 8:00 the next morning. He also took a dose of Calpol. I’m so glad we opted for an early date so he wouldn’t have time to eat! We literally get up and get dressed.
On the day of the surgery, only one parent was allowed into the hospital suite, so I went in with Joben. My husband was waiting in the car with our older son.
tooth extraction under general anesthesia
I’m shocked how many people come and go with young children. We were quickly disposed of, and it wasn’t long before I had Joben in the operating room.
It was so lovely in there with all the crew sitting by his bed, all the theater lights dimmed and a giant sea life projection on the ceiling.
Joben is a confident little guy who jumps into bed and starts covering himself! The staff were all giggling and chatting with him. It put Joben and I at ease instantly. I’m so glad I wore a mask because I can feel my lower lip move!
They explained all about his magic mask and we held his hand and chatted with him while they administered the anesthesia. It took Joben about 2 minutes to fall asleep, it could have been even faster than that. There was very little struggle, just one involuntary spasm, which they had explained to me before going in. It was a calming experience and I was relieved because we all hoped that Joben would resist and then have to restrain him. Also, Joben is a big boy for his age with tremendous strength (and only a shoe size smaller than me!) so I’m glad things didn’t get to that point.
How long will my child need general anesthesia during a tooth extraction?
In our case, Joben was able to extract all 4 of his teeth in just a few minutes. When I left the operating room and talked to the nurse about postoperative care, he was milling around the small ward.
Then I went in and gave him the biggest hug. When I walked in, he had a big smile on his little face.
I was told he might get sick afterwards because all the blood he swallowed would make his stomach a little sick. He did get very sick, but once he recovered, he was completely fine.
What to expect after your child returns to normal after a tooth extraction under general anesthesia
As I said earlier, it is expected that your child will feel sick. There will be a lot of bleeding, but as the nurse said, it’s completely normal and it will pass.
After we got everything from the nurse, we took the little man home. The rest of the day is spent peacefully on the couch with duvets, snuggles and movies!
He was absolutely fine, other than Joben was a little groggy for the rest of the day.
Care for children after tooth extraction
Once your child is ready to eat again, you obviously don’t want them to eat anything that will upset their tender gums.
We found that scrambled eggs worked best for Joben, even after fasting, if we gave him anything he would eat it!
However, he does have food such as mashed potatoes, pasta, and soup. When he starts to heal, even a sandwich with the shell cut off will do. We gave Joben regular doses of Calpol on the day of surgery and the next day. Twice he complained of being a little unwell so we gave him some ibuprofen for kids and it was better.
We’ll have a follow-up appointment soon, which will be great to see how things go. But so far so good. Joben has been a star. It’s a simple procedure, but any mom who has a child with autism knows that nothing is easy for our children, it’s a huge challenge in so many ways, and there’s a huge responsibility on our shoulders as parents, to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible!
Our experiences have all been positive, and if something similar has happened to you, I’m sure yours will too. Good luck!
