Many kids with autism have a difficulty communicating when they experience dental health problems. For that reason, it is important that parents are more cautious when looking out for any possible dental health problems that their child might be experiencing. Since a child without this impairment will be more likely to show obvious symptoms of a dental issue by crying or simply by telling their parents they are filling pain. For a child with this impairment, they may show signs of pain in other ways, sometimes parents don't even know that they are suffering from pain because they are non-communicative in most cases. It is important that parents take certain steps in helping their child receive better dental care.
With the many challenges that children face being autistic, it may be difficult for them to receive better dental care. They have to make dental care comfortable. It is important that your children are being their check-ups regularly. Since getting them to go to the dental office may be a challenge, you must find creative ways to motivate them to get to their dental appointments. Make it fun for them. If your child is uncomfortable with the dentist it may be a challenge to having them successfully complete their appointment, so it is important that you do your research and look one that is going to be sensitive to your child autistic needs. There are many dentists out there who specialize in seeing autistic children.
It is also very important to practice routine dental care at home. In order to help motivate them, you can try to have them select their own toothbrush and their own toothpaste that they prefer. When they are given something that they can appreciate, there are more likely to want to practice with it. Also if you are having a hard time getting your child to brush your teeth or want to enter the bathroom, try making the environment more comfortable for them by allowing them to brush their teeth anywhere they feel comfortable, like the living room or their bedroom. Then from there, you can slowly build up their confidence to brush in the bathroom. Being consistent with your dental routine is very important for your child to maintain their dental health as well. Make sure that you brush your kids' teeth on a regular basis daily so they get used to it and can expect it.
You can show your kids pictures of the dentist and the dental office to familiarize them with where they will be getting their dental care. This can hopefully lessen the fear of going to the dentist.
Lastly, it is important that you are being consistent with dental care at home. Make sure that you maintain a consistency with brushing their teeth as well as allowing them to do what they need to do to feel comfortable brushing. Having a child with autism can definitely be a challenge itself, therefore it is important that you take these necessary steps to make the process of dental care much easier on both yourself and your child.
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Hey I have autism and I think this is pretty cool!!!
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