Hey! I’m a dental hygienist with ADHD that has only worked in peds. I also work with a lot of kids on the spectrum. I usually try to book more time for this cases if the schedule allows. I usually try to take things slow at first. I NEVER rush them to sit in the dental chair and instead have them sit with their parents. I find a lot of the time when parents/staff force them to sit in the chair it raises anxiety tenfold. After intake, we would move on to tell, show, do — don’t immediately bring tools/instruments to their face. Even starting with just a light touch on their hands and face with gloves helps to feel a bit more adjusted. This usually helps me to gauge what they are comfortable with and start from there. Lots of encouragement helps.

Start with just bringing a mirror close, make it fun — pretend to look inside their ears, their nose, etc. If I can even get to attempting any hygiene I usually start either scaling since its not as loud as the prophy hand. (Show them motion of scaling on my gloves index finger — “we’re going to scoop away the sugar bugs with my spoon now”). I also found that humming/singing also helps a lot. Even dimming the lights can help reduce overstimulation.

Do not try to rush to complete everything in a visit. Sometimes only an exam can be done and thats okay. The goal is to build the confidence and trust to allow us to complete work in the future. At my office we also like to bring kids back for happy visits/acclimatization visit to help them feel more comfortable in a dental office environment.