Taking My Autistic Child For Dental Treatment Under General Aneasthetic

I don’t think it matters what the procedure is or what operation needs to be done, we parents will always worry when it comes to our children. I am the first to admit that my anxiety levels hit the roof when anything medical involves my boys. You would think after going through a heart transplant with my husband I would be totally fine, but it doesn’t stop me worrying.
I just wanted to share our experience of dental surgery and autism, so that hopefully this may help a parent out there that is gearing themselves up for an upcoming appointment and may have some worries, just as we did.

Tooth Care And Autism

If you pop by here regularly you will be aware that my youngest is autistic. Although he can communicate considerably more than he could a few years back, he is still limited with certain aspects of his speech. Unless he is talking about food, in which case he is fluent (always thinking of his belly).
We have always been quite particular when it comes to brushing our teeth. Twice a day every day. My eldest used to enjoy using the apps you can get that play a song whilst you brush and he’s been ever so good with his dental hygiene as he’s grown up.
Joben was a little trickier. He didn’t like the brush near his mouth when he was younger, but thankfully we managed to overcome that. With that said, he didn’t spit the toothpaste out as you should, so we could only show the brush the tiniest amount of toothpaste because he would swallow it otherwise.

Awful Toothache

My youngest is now eight, and although he now knows that he spits the toothpaste out now and will brush his teeth on his own with a little help, the years with little toothpaste and not-so-thorough cleaning, had left behind a few cavities on his baby teeth.

It came to light when he started getting toothache and it takes a lot to bring my little man down, but this really paid its toll on him. We all know how nasty toothache is, it really drains you, doesn’t it?
His toothache started to get progressively worse so we booked him in at our dentist ASAP. After an examination, they gave him antibiotics and confirmed that he had a couple of cavities. They were absolutely brilliant and referred him to a specialist dental centre that treats special needs to take a further look. The appointment came through super quickly!

Referral To A Specialist Dental Centre

We had a lovely first visit at the special needs dental centre. The staff were amazing with Joben. Appointments can be so stressful for us, but they made it really pleasant for my boy. They explained everything to us and him and it was agreed that he would need to go to the hospital and have said teeth extracted. We were given the option to wait 5-6 months and see how he got on with pain relief, but we all know how dreadful toothache is and I didn’t want my little man to suffer needlessly.
With papers signed and a hospital referral booked, we left knowing that we were doing the right thing for Joben. Although my anxiety was saying hello, I knew it had to be done.

Again, the referral letter came through the post at light speed. So I then had it in the back of my mind until the day of the procedure. I’m such a stress head hehe.

Preparing Our Autistic Child For Dental Surgery

With Joben functioning best by following a routine, we have to prepare him mentally the night before so that he can expect a change in his day. Change can really upset him otherwise.
Joben was nil by mouth after midnight and could have only sips of water until 8 am the following morning. He also had a dose of Calpol. I am so glad that we opted for an early appointment, this way he wouldn’t have the time to be tempted to eat! We literally got up, dressed and off.

On the day of surgery, only one parent was allowed in the hospital suite, so I went in with Joben. My husband waited in the car with our eldest.

Child Tooth Extraction Under General Aneasthetic

I was quite shocked just how many people were coming and going with little ones. We were soon dealt with and before too long I was walking Joben into the surgery room.
It was so lovely in there, all of the staff were sat around his bed and all the theatre lights were dimmed and there was a huge sealife projection on the ceiling.
Joben being the confident little man he is, jumped on the bed and started to tuck himself in! The staff all giggled and chatted away with him. It put Joben and myself at ease instantly. I’m so glad I had a mask on because I could feel my bottom lip going!

They explained all about his magic mask and we held his hands and chatted to him whilst they administered the anesthetic. It took Joben about 2 minutes to go off to sleep it may have even been quicker than that. There were little struggles and just one involuntary spasm which they had already explained to me prior to going in. It was a calm experience which I was relieved about because we were all expecting Joben to resist and then have to restrain him. Also, Joben is a big boy for his age with tremendous strength (and only one shoe size smaller than me!) so I was relieved that it didn’t come to that.

How Long Will My Child Be Under General Aneasthetic During A Tooth Extraction?

In our case, it was a matter of minutes for Joben to have his 4 teeth out. By the time I had left the operation room and spoken to the nurse about aftercare, he was coming around on the little ward.
I then went in and gave him the biggest hug. His little face beamed when I walked in.
I was told that he may be sick afterwards as the stomach gets a little upset with all the blood that is swallowed. He was indeed sick quite profusely but once he had got it up, he was totally fine.

What To Expect After A Child Comes Around After A Tooth Extraction Under General Aneasthetic

As I just said, your child feeling sicky is expected. It will be very bloody but as the nurse said, this is totally normal and will pass.
After we had the all clear from the nurses, we took little man home. The rest of the day was spent quietly on the sofa complete with duvet, snuggles and movies!
Apart from Joben being a little groggy for the rest of the day, he was absolutely fine.

Aftercare Of A Child’s Tooth Extraction

Once your child is ready to eat again, you obviously don’t want them eating anything that could disturb their tender gums.
We found scrambled eggs worked best for Joben, even though after fasting, he would have eaten anything if we let him!
However, he did have foods such as mashed potatoes, spaghetti hoops and soups. Even sandwiches with the crusts cut off were OK when he started to heal. For the day of the procedure and the following day, we gave Joben regular doses of Calpol. He complained of being a little uncomfortable twice, so we gave him some children’s Ibuprofen which made it better.

We have a follow-up appointment coming up soon which will be nice to see how things are going. But so far so good. Joben has been a star throughout it all. It was a straightforward procedure but as any mum with autistic children will know, nothing is straightforward for our children, it’s a massive challenge in lots of ways and we parents have a huge load on our shoulders to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible!
Whether it be a dentist York, an orthodontist in Staffordshire or a specialised dental centre like ours, our experience was all positive and I’m sure yours will be too if you have something similar coming up. Best of luck!