Special care for healthy smiles

(Stacey) Ayden was formally assessed as having
autism spectrum disorder when he was
15 months old. Gabriel also had normal
development, but by the time he was
about 2 we started seeing that he was
having physical symptoms such as
gastrointestinal distress. For the most
part they pretty much look like
typically developing kids, but there's a
lot of support that go on in their world
to make that happen for them.
(Gabriel) We're going to Dr. Nelson, our dentist. I believe. And
(Ayden) Yeah. That's correct.
(Gabriel) Yeah, I'm going to get my tooth repaired, and I'm gonna be filmed.
At the end, if you're really good you can get prizes. Puppies, erasers,
mustache ducks, surfboard ducks, any kinda duck, really.
(Stacey) By the time you get spun through the vortex of getting an
autism diagnosis, dental care is the last
thing on your mind. In two-and-a-half
years we barely managed to get X-rays
done and a couple of light cleanings. A lot of
dental practitioners think that because
they have extra patience, they can
accommodate; but they don't have any
training, they don't have any concept of
what the spectrum disease is and how to
relate to the kids. We found the Center
for Pediatric Dentistry right after it
opened and I was very hopeful that Dr.
Nelson had initiated a specialty clinic
for special-needs kids. He had actually
spent the time researching these
children, their behavioral and sensory
needs, and from the minute we walked in we
knew he got it. (Dr. Nelson) I heard you wanted me to take a look at those teeth.
(Dr. Nelson) We've been learning the autism clinic
for the last 4 maybe even 5 years now. We initiated
that project with the idea that we could
teach children how to go to the dentist.
In the past, not all these kids had been
given that opportunity. But by giving
kids a few extra visits, giving them a
little push —
but not exposing them to things they can't
handle — we've been able to teach a lot of
kids how to come in, sit in the dental
chair, get their teeth cleaned and
ultimately, hopefully, have better oral
health. My hope would be that we can
expand the services that we provide; that
we could see more children; reduce the
amount of time a child has to wait to come
in; and that we can expand the care that
we provide to the community.

Special care for healthy smiles

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