P
Persephone
Member
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2015
- Messages
- 26
I need a soft place to fall where I can release some of the worries that plague me.
My 15 1/2 year old son, Tom, has severe autism and he is non-verbal.
In his early years (when we did not have an instruction manual), Tom would fight us when we tried to brush his teeth. I managed to get a finger brush in there with some toddler toothpaste.
When Tom was eight years old, he had extensive dental surgery to repair the damage. Four hours under anesthesia in the hospital. It was quite an ordeal.
After that wake up call, Tom became so cooperative. He let the dentist thoroughly examine him and he let us do extensive toothbrushing regimens morning and night. We limited his sweets.
Two years later, Tom was back in the hospital. With my flashlight, I had spotted something inside his front tooth. But, what we thought was going to be one little filling, turned into another four hour surgery. Tom's molars had come in with the outside looking good. But, when the dentist tapped on the teeth, they cracked open like an egg to reveal decay. She was shocked and so were we. Many of his teeth had soft spots and needed to be filled. After that ordeal, we upped the toothbrushing regimen to include rinsing with ACT and I wrote a letter to the teachers at his school begging them to brush his teeth after lunch.
It's now four years later and Tom had a third dental surgery this June. Four hours under anesthesia and this time, he had a hard time coming out of it. The dentist filled one cavity, filled little starts of decay, and touched up all of his other fillings. Basically every tooth with a chewing surface has a huge, deep amalgam filling. 12 fillings!
Tom loves food and he is constantly eating. Because of his autism, he does not eat a wide variety of foods. For breakfast, he eats ham or Taylor ham or chicken and a graham cracker with peanut butter. For lunch, he eats chicken, orange, grapes, Fruitable (no sugar added) juice. For dinner, he eats chicken (or pork or steak or shrimp), french fries, broccoli, and corn.
He only drinks milk or water and he drinks tons of both. He drinks his milk with a straw.
We allow him to have two Stella Doro cookies for dessert. After which, he must drink a whole bottle of water.
Occasionally, he has ice cream. Chocolate on Valentines Day and Christmas. Whenever he eats a sweet, he drinks a whole bottle of water and we brush his teeth afterwards.
He used to eat a lot of pretzels, but we do not let him eat them anymore since the third surgery.
Tom grinds/ clenches his teeth (but he won't wear a guard), so I've been massaging his jaw before bed.
Now it's August, only two months since his surgery, and I've noticed that his upper molars have bright and dark yellow splotches on them. I've been in turmoil worrying about it. We go to the dentist in a couple of weeks. (We can't go sooner because Tom and I are going back to school.)
I've been obsessed and frought with worry over Tom's teeth to the point where I'm going to have a breakdown. I worry about what's going to happen if he needs another surgery under anesthesia and what if they can't save his teeth.
Tom is such a loving, huggy-kissy-cuddly boy. He does not deserve this.
Every time I see his happy smile, I am heartbroken. For I don't know when his smile will be taken away.
it's all my fault. I should have done a better job in the beginning. I just can't get over it. I'm powerless to change it. I feel like I ruined my son.
And I am constantly talking about his teeth, researching on the internet, and worrying incessantly.
Thank goodness, he is not picking up on it.
But what if, someday, he has to have all his teeth pulled out?
I just can not bear it.
My 15 1/2 year old son, Tom, has severe autism and he is non-verbal.
In his early years (when we did not have an instruction manual), Tom would fight us when we tried to brush his teeth. I managed to get a finger brush in there with some toddler toothpaste.
When Tom was eight years old, he had extensive dental surgery to repair the damage. Four hours under anesthesia in the hospital. It was quite an ordeal.
After that wake up call, Tom became so cooperative. He let the dentist thoroughly examine him and he let us do extensive toothbrushing regimens morning and night. We limited his sweets.
Two years later, Tom was back in the hospital. With my flashlight, I had spotted something inside his front tooth. But, what we thought was going to be one little filling, turned into another four hour surgery. Tom's molars had come in with the outside looking good. But, when the dentist tapped on the teeth, they cracked open like an egg to reveal decay. She was shocked and so were we. Many of his teeth had soft spots and needed to be filled. After that ordeal, we upped the toothbrushing regimen to include rinsing with ACT and I wrote a letter to the teachers at his school begging them to brush his teeth after lunch.
It's now four years later and Tom had a third dental surgery this June. Four hours under anesthesia and this time, he had a hard time coming out of it. The dentist filled one cavity, filled little starts of decay, and touched up all of his other fillings. Basically every tooth with a chewing surface has a huge, deep amalgam filling. 12 fillings!
Tom loves food and he is constantly eating. Because of his autism, he does not eat a wide variety of foods. For breakfast, he eats ham or Taylor ham or chicken and a graham cracker with peanut butter. For lunch, he eats chicken, orange, grapes, Fruitable (no sugar added) juice. For dinner, he eats chicken (or pork or steak or shrimp), french fries, broccoli, and corn.
He only drinks milk or water and he drinks tons of both. He drinks his milk with a straw.
We allow him to have two Stella Doro cookies for dessert. After which, he must drink a whole bottle of water.
Occasionally, he has ice cream. Chocolate on Valentines Day and Christmas. Whenever he eats a sweet, he drinks a whole bottle of water and we brush his teeth afterwards.
He used to eat a lot of pretzels, but we do not let him eat them anymore since the third surgery.
Tom grinds/ clenches his teeth (but he won't wear a guard), so I've been massaging his jaw before bed.
Now it's August, only two months since his surgery, and I've noticed that his upper molars have bright and dark yellow splotches on them. I've been in turmoil worrying about it. We go to the dentist in a couple of weeks. (We can't go sooner because Tom and I are going back to school.)
I've been obsessed and frought with worry over Tom's teeth to the point where I'm going to have a breakdown. I worry about what's going to happen if he needs another surgery under anesthesia and what if they can't save his teeth.
Tom is such a loving, huggy-kissy-cuddly boy. He does not deserve this.
Every time I see his happy smile, I am heartbroken. For I don't know when his smile will be taken away.
it's all my fault. I should have done a better job in the beginning. I just can't get over it. I'm powerless to change it. I feel like I ruined my son.
And I am constantly talking about his teeth, researching on the internet, and worrying incessantly.
Thank goodness, he is not picking up on it.
But what if, someday, he has to have all his teeth pulled out?
I just can not bear it.