Dentist Visits For Everyone

by Kristina Chew · 2009-07-21 14:24:00 UTC
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Smilling tooth neon sign by MBK http://www.flickr.com/photos/mbk/
Going to the dentist and getting his teeth checked without sedation or being restrained in something like a "papoose": This was one of the things I noted we've been able to teach Charlie through a lot of hard work, ours and most of all, his own. Yesterday's Las Vegas Review-Journal features Dr. Jeff Kinner, who has, for the past two years, reserved Mondays to see only autistic children. Kinner notes that sometimes he'll see a child three to four times before actually starting to work on their teeth; he draws on techniques of Applied Behavior Analysis learned from occupational therapists.

Certainly going to the dentist is all-out sensory over-stimulating (not to mention painful) experience. We've been lucky to find a pediatric dentist who also devotes some of his time to seeing children with disabilities. But will there be similar professionals willing to see Charlie when he's an adult?

Image by MBK via Flickr.

Kristina Chew
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