4 Ways To Help Support Your Exceptional Need Teen When They Need Dental Surgery:


1.     Have them do the research with you
      a.  If your child is able to, have them look up some information on the dental procedure they are going to have done. If not, you can create a social story or a small story about the procedure with pictures to support the tale.

2.     Ask their pediatric dentist for more information
      a. If you cannot find the information on the Internet about specifics of the dental procedure, ask the dentist. They should be able to get you more information that would be appropriate to share with your child.

3.     Prepare them ahead of time
        a.  "Give your child an opportunity to adjust to the information and prepare themselves as is appropriate to their developmental level," says Pediatric dentist Dr. Cameron Fuller. Some children may preservate – huh?  on the information, so a few hours may be enough time. But don’t expect them to jump right in the chair and be okay with the situation.

4.     Have a plan for complications
                 a. Dr. Fuller states, "unfortunately, sometimes accidents or complications can occur,". Plan for this and how you are going to handle it if something does happen. Make sure to have backup food or drinks they can have, or pain medications they can take. Prepare to adjust the schedule if need be. If they have a picture schedule or first-then board to help with changes, you may want to have this at the dentist office in order to provide support in case something happens and you are going to be there longer, or have their favorite toy or a stuffed animal that calms them.

Again tie this up at the end with a sentence.

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