I thought this was a good blog post: Autism and Dentistry: Dental Challenges for Families and Treating Dentists. By Darlene Oakley at empowher.com
I don’t want to copy a lot of the post here–I’d rather send you there. One new and cool piece of information for me: I didn’t know about these two organizations:
Special Care Dentistry Association (www.scdaonline.org) and the National Foundation of Dentistry for the Handicapped (www.nfdh.org),
Left Brain Right Brain 
In Wisconsin, there is a facility (Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin – Milwaukee) that specializes in providing care for children, including a dental clinic that is fully equipped to handle children with special needs. I cannot imagine taking my son to a normal dentist. Even with the experienced providers, softer lights, the private room, the hug blanket, and happy gas it’s a very traumatic undertaking to the point that anything besides a cleaning will likely be done under sedation.
Stephanie,
I’ve heard people say that taking a kid to a hospital for sedation dentistry has another advantage–medical insurance paying for the anesthesia. I don’t know if it is true, but the thought has stayed with me.
I don’t know yet about sedation, but our insurance will cover the happy gas (that’s what they call it and I don’t know what it really is) at the hospital, but not at a regular dental office.
Read about the potential adverse effect of nitrous oxide on ASD children with the MTHFR gene deletion and/or deficiency of Vitamin B-12 (cobalamin).
“Severe Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase Deficiency, Methionine Synthase, and Nitrous Oxide — A Cautionary Tale” by Richard W. Erbe, M.D., and Robbert J. Salis, M.D., New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 349:5-6 July 3, 2003 Number 1.
“Adverse Effect of Nitrous Oxide in a Child with 5,10-Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase Deficiency” by Rebecca R. Selzer, Ph.D., David S. Rosenblatt, M.D., Renata Laxova, M.D., and Kirk Hogan, M.D., J.D., New England Journal of Medicine,
349;1, July 3, 2003.
A letter in Arch Dis Child 2001;85:510 (December) from Isabel Smith, Clinical Audit Department, Great Ormond Street Hospital in London states:
“Nitrous oxide inactivates cobalamin, the active derivative of vitamin B12 and essential cofactor for the transfer of the methyl group from methyltetrahydrofolate to homocysteine to form methionine. For subjects with good body stores of cobalamin this effect is unimportant, but no-one using this agent should remain unaware of the potentially devastating complications in the nervous system of using nitrous oxide in subjects who are of borderline or deficient vitamin B12 status. Onset of subacute combined degeneration affecting the brain and spinal cord is a well documented event when individuals with low body stores of cobalamin are exposed to nitrous oxide.”
Hi, Sullivan. I don’t recall if it is a state mandate or a federal one, but I know in my state, sedation for developmentally delayed children/adults for dental treatment must be covered. It’s been a while since I looked at the requirements, so I’m not sure if location (dental office vs hospital) is specified. I’ll look tomorrow when I am back at work and have the info more readily available.
OK….googled it. State mandate
hello i want to know about how can i do to treatment one patient that have autism . whether this patient need to special attention during dental treatment.
Severe methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase deficiency is incredibly rare, about 50 cases worldwide. The condition has no relation to autism.
“internet marketing” is a spammer.
Julian Frost:
thanks! (I’ve deleted the spam comment)