Autistic teen struggling with dental treatment and gag reflex

[TheRoseSquid]

Hello I don’t know if this is allowed on here but I need to talk about this because it was a horrible experience for me

im 19 and have autism and OCD last night my tooth pain started getting worse and I couldn’t sleep very well. I go to the dentist with my mum and turns out my right top wisdom tooth is broken and rotten ☹️ I decided to have it taken out instead of taking antibiotics. She needed to put something in my mouth to x ray my tooth but I couldn’t do it, I kept on gagging which isn’t unusual for me because I often gag brushing my teeth I have a poor gag reflex. My mum had to leave the room so she couldn’t hold my hand but every time I tried I gagged and kept on crying I felt like a big baby I know I was exhausted because I only got two hours sleep or less. The lovely dentist said I could go antibiotics but I need to have it taken out with local anaesthetic.

sorry if this is long but I don’t use social media because it’s bad for my mental health so I feel like here would be a good place. TIA

Hi this sounds awful for you. You are being hard on yourself. Sounds like you’ve been very brave and not behaved like a big baby at all.

You can’t help the fact that you have sensory needs. Even though you knew it would be a challenge you gave it a go and without your Mum’s support too. Well done.
Loads of adults are scared of the dentist and sounds like it’s something you are generally fine with.

Be kind to yourself. It’s good that you posted on here. I really hope that you can get your tooth sorted soon.
Don’t blame you not being on social
media BTW.

There are options other than having it out under local anaesthetic. If this is a general dental practice? If so, ask (or ask your DM to ask) for a referral to the special care community dental service.

Unfortunately it was an emergency appointment because they took me off because I moved house. My local dentist is crap tbh so now I don’t know what to do. I don’t mind having it taken out with local anaesthetic it’s the fact she needed to put something in the back of my mouth to x ray the tooth but I have a bad gag reflex and I’m scared of general anaesthetic so I don’t know what to do. The tooth is broken and rotted idk how because my other teeth are fine, I’m on antibiotics I have take 3 pills a day but I need it out I also had an infection back in January.

Even if you don’t need a GA for treatment, I would still ask for a referral to the special care community dental service. They have much more experience of treating those with additional needs. Difficulty getting x-rays is commonplace in their work.

How do i get my mum to do that for me? My dentist is Bupa and are absolutely shit if I’m being honest. I can’t work so I’m on disability benefits so I’m not sure if I would get charged or not I don’t really know much about it because I only had a few fillings as a child but nothing else. I do have some teeth that need straightened but trying to get braces or anything has been a nightmare. Unless we try a different dentistry?

If your mum googles ‘special care community dental service’ and your area she should be able to find information about the service covering your local area. Referral information is often available online. If it isn’t in your area, your mum can contact them to ask who can refer. Who can refer varies from area to area. Usually the GP can refer. General dentists can refer, but in some areas it has to be an NHS dentist. Then your mum can ask one of the people who can refer in your area to refer you.

UPDATE:

I’ve been on the antibiotics and pain killers which are working however in the past few hours I’ve gotten really warm and I’m worried I’ve got a temperature. It’s not been hot where I live today so it’s out of the blue I’m worried because it’s been broken and rotted it could cause other issues especially because I’m on my second infection my last was January 😬

Have you told your DM? Do you/she have a thermometer?

Sorry, I didn’t answer the part of your previous post asking about payment. If you are on Universal Credit and don’t have any income, you will get free NHS dentistry care. That doesn’t cover private work. You would pay for that.

my temperature went down but she’s keeping an eye on me because I’ve developed a cold and cough but so far it’s ok but I’m just worried it could get worse especially because I’ve had the tooth broken for months with out realising