A Little Less Time in the Dentist Chair?
Charlie was supposed to go the dentist yesterday morning but I had to reschedule his appointment to August as I was at the BlogHer conference. And I’ll confess, I felt a sense of (guilty?) relief at knowing that Charlie’s next date with the dentist chair would be postponed a bit more. We’ve been slack about practicing for the dentist with him lying on the bed, keeping his hands in his lap and his mouth open.
Charlie will be starting a dental program at school and I expect that will help, and then I read about a new technology that uses a tiny optical fiber to detect tooth decay as soon as it starts. As the July 23rd Science Daily noted, x-rays and visual observation are currently how tooth decay is detected; the decay has advanced to the point that drilling is needed to remove the decayed area—-hich is why I’ve felt very thankful that Charlie has yet to have a cavity—I do not think he would be able to handle that awake. It’s an effort enough to help him through the dentist picking and scraping out his teeth.
If decay is detected early enough via the new technology (which uses Raman spectroscopy), a “special mouthwash or fluoride varnish” might be used to repair the tooth. The technology might be available in five years, with the cost of developing the machines being potentially prohibitive. It takes 30 seconds to do a scan of a tooth and am not at all sure that Charlie would lie still for that long—-looks like we’ve got some time to practice.
Back to getting ready for the August appointment.
Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, Dentist, disabilities blog, disability, drill, Health, optical fiber, Parenting, patient, pdd-nos, Science, spectroscopy, Technology, teeth, VaccinesRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Dentist, Health, Technology
1 opinion for A Little Less Time in the Dentist Chair?
Janice
Jul 24, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Youngest actually likes the dentist’s office as long as we bring our own toothpaste. They have a tv and will turn it to a cartoon station that she enjoys. That, and the fact that she usually has dentist appointments during the school year, therefore getting off of school for a while, makes them treats in her mind!
Of course, if she ever develops a cavity, that attitude might change forever. But she seems to have wound up with very good teeth and enamel so, so far, so good!
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