4 Preparation Tips On Taking Your Autistic Child To Your Family Dentist

If you have an autistic child, you know it's difficult at times to introduce them to new surroundings. They are more comfortable during routine activities. Since your child only may visit your family dentist twice a year, this may come as a new experience to them each time. However, if you properly prepare your autistic child for this process, you should be able to make a smooth transition to doing so.  

Tip #1: Create a Storybook with Pictures  

You can create a laminated storybook with pictures for your autistic child. The storybook's purpose is to make sure that your child knows what is going to take place once they go to the dentist. Since autistic children have a tendency to resist change, the storybook will help them to understand that going to the dentist is a good situation and not something to be worried about. Working on the book together allows your child to ask any questions they have, and you can incorporate the answers in the book.

Tip #2: Make Sure Your Dentist is Comfortable Working with Autistic Children  

Parents, you should make sure that the dentist you are using to service your child's teeth is comfortable with working with children who have disabilities. There are many family dentists that just do not like dealing with autistic patients.

It presents a challenge to them as they must proceed with extra caution. If your child were to get frustrated during the process, your child could cause harm to themselves as well as the dentist and his staff. To save your child and yourself some frustration, just make sure that your dentist has some experience and tolerance for autistic children.  

Tip #3: Know Your Dentists' Office Procedures  

All dental offices pretty much have the same procedures, but the process they use to carry out these procedures are often different. As a parent with an autistic child, you should make it a point to figure out how a particular office performs its services. The reason this is important is because you do not want a lot of downtime with your child. This could easily lead to boredom that in turn could lead to problems.

From experience, you might already have a repertoire of solutions that you can use to keep your child entertained. Ultimately, knowing how a dental office operates will just help you and your child to be better prepared for the appointment.  

Tip #4: Distract Your Child  

You should already have strategies to keep your child busy and engaged while you are out in public. Playing video games and movies on a tablet or smartphone is one great way to keep your child distracted during the visit. This way you can get through an appointment with fewer issues. Toys, music, and books can also be used to distract a child as well.

As a parent of an autistic child, you should make sure that you go through the entire appointment process with your child. This will help to reduce any problems, and it will also make your child more comfortable while they are receiving dental services.  

For professional dental care, contact a dentist such as Kyle J Frisinger DMD.

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