I am seriously loosing it..Autism **UPDATED**

[DisneyDreams4P&B]

Tonight my HFA DS9 pulled out a permanant tooth because he said it was bothering him. He worked at it all night until he pulled it out. I am beside myself now. We kept telling him to leave it alone, and he just kept at it. He would say he was going to the bathroom, just to go in another room and work at the tooth. I am just sick over it. Is this a sign of things to come? Will he loose more teeth? I am just so worried about him and what this means..it's 12:30 and I should have been asleep hours ago, yet I am searching the internet on what I should do?

I am just ready to scream.

**December 24th**
After many phone calls (and some of them not so lady like) with the dentist office regarding my son, we have come to the conclusion that he pulled a baby tooth. We still have not been in to see the dentist and are quite frankly looking for a new one. This was not the most pleasant experience in the world but it was made so much better by all of the wonderful posts and private messages I received. Payton went to see the Nutcracker yesterday and did great until intermission time, where, when he heard that the Mouse King was Dead and not coming back, decided he was done and wanted to go home. I felt like one of those Mastercard commercials. $20.00 for parking, $75.00 for tickets, Deciding after the Mouse King dies the ballet is over...Priceless.

Thank you all again for your support and well wishes and we wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

 

[mechurchlady]

I have SID/SPD sensory issues and am a picker like your son, sort of. I will pick at protein spots, scabs, moles, callasous, etc. Once I get a bug in my head when I am bored I just keep at it without realizing I did something that was hurtful. Pickers, digger, etc. will get to where they have to do the task even if they are hurting themselves. They have a target and some do not stop until the target is obliterated even if they hurt themselves.

I never heard of a tooth being yanked out but have ripped off toenails to the quick. Stress is one thing that causes the behavior to increase. You are going to have to watch him very closely for this type of behavior. You can try to distract him with a stress ball or something to get his mind off of his target, target in this case the tooth. Going after a target is normal behavior for some adults and kids.

The people in chat can give you better help on things that can be done to help him but don't worry too much. If he gets his sights locked on a target then you will have to almost set on him and watch him. There are things that can be done but right now I am heading for a nap so cannot think of them things.

Merry Christmas
Being a caregiver is lots of stress so please take time to relax even if it is playing with a stress ball while watching a show and drinking hot chocolate.

Big hugs and chocolates from Laurie

 

[quasar4legs]

So sorry that you are dealing with this situation

Just rang my dentist friend and he said "are you 100% sure it is a second tooth?" He said it would take a lot of pressure and strength to pull out a second tooth and the attached roots should be about 25mm as opposed to 10 mm in a baby tooth.
Presuming it is a second tooth he said you need to put the tooth into milk to protect it and a dentist may be able to re-implant the tooth although it will probably require root canal therapy as the nerves die.
Any chance that maybe it is a 'baby' tooth from the back of the mouth????
For there to be any chance of a re-implant you would need to get to an emergency dentist ASAP.

My heart goes out to you.

Trish

 

[quasar4legs]

Oops soory, I'm in Australia and just posted in metric rather than imperial. The roots on a permanant tooth should be about 1 inch wheras a baby tooth should be about a third of an inch.

Trish

Keep us posted, I hope this can be resolved.

 

[robin09]

Sorry,, I have nothing to give except .. DD10 just "lost" 3 teeth this week. ONe was loose, one just moved a bit, and the third I have no idea. She focuses on one spot and there is no getting her away from it. She was focused last week on getting the little treasure chests the school gives away with each lost tooth.. She "needed" each color. Hopefully yours also are baby teeth, these were her molars.

 

[DisneyDreams4P&B]

I called his dentist today, to see if it was indeed a baby tooth. Your posts have been so helpful and encouraging. The tooth did not have any roots on it but I swear I thought he lost it already. I am waiting to hear back from the dentist, they are going to pull his x rays. I just feel like I am loosing it. Just a few weeks prior he was in the hospital for a week for seizures. It just adds up, you know. I am really trying to be positive, I am not a wallow in the mud kind of person but there is a limit..

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I totally understand and I am sorry you are going through so much at one time. Having autistic kids is a constant worry and we never know what's going to happen next. Let us know if it was a permanent tooth or not. I'm interested in whether he was really able to remove a permanent tooth on his own.

Hope things get better from here on out!

 

[quasar4legs]

Keeping my fingers crossed it is indeed a baby tooth. I hope you managed to get a little sleep last night, mum's need some looking after too.

Hope your dentist gets back to you quickly.

Trish

 

[mechurchlady]

It sounds like a baby tooth as that is something I would do if I was loosing an annoying tooth. I send you warm thoughts, hugs, chocolates, and prayers that it is a baby tooth.

Just being a parent can be very taxing. I care for my mom and if you ever met her you would love her but it is very hard to take care of someone. Try to find some time for yourself. There is help out there but I just cannot think of an answer.

A ton of prayers and hugs for you from Laurie.

 

[DisneyDreams4P&B]

Again, thank you all so much for the warm thoughts. The dentist's office called, said they could only find x-rays of his front teeth (I know they did a full scan) and that they would call me back. No phone call back. I am so hopeful that it was a baby tooth. I had a friend look at it and that is what she said it looked like. It just scares me to think that he could do that, sit and pick at something till it was out.

I am keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[quasar4legs]

Thanks for the update, I keep checking in to see if there is any news.

Fingers crossed here as well and I hope they can find the other x-rays.

Trish

 

[mechurchlady]

Thanks for the update. You now know what he might be capable and there is lots of things you can do in the future after the holidays. I have bad upper molars and can tell you that it can drive you crazy if you have a tooth flapping in the breeze. Your poor son probably was annoyed by that loose tooth ... you get the picture. Being a kid he probably could not tell you that the tooth was a flapping in the breeze.

Now that I have you all guilty you will need a big box of chocolates and cheesecake. Chocolates are the cure for everything known to woman except for a few ailments. Will keep you in my thoughts and prayers

Merry Christmas
hugs and chocolates from Laurie

 

[SueM in MN]

I think it is very unlikely that he would be able to work out an adult tooth.
Some of my oldest DD's baby teeth were in tight and actually had to be pulled. If that can happen with babt teeth that have small short roots, I can't believe someone would actually be able to work out an adult tooth. It would be very easy to work out a baby tooth, even if it was not that loose to begin with. As it was 'worked on', it would get looser and looser and finally work its way out. Someone with autism would probably be very aware of even a small amount of looseness and would keep working on it until he got rid of the loose feeling.

I also work in a setting with people with brain injuries who sometimes do things like grind their teeth and play with anything that is loose. I have never heard of any of them working out an adult tooth.

Does he have any 'fidget' toys? Some are like baby teething toys, just bigger. Those can really help some kids who have a need to be biting at/working on something.

 

[LuvsTinker]

(((Big Hugs))) Glad to hear it was baby tooth.

My now 9 yo son use to look like a walking bandaid. He would scratch bug bites so bad, they would get infected.

Fortunately a Rx he's taking to help other issues has helped controll the obsessive scratching and hasn't been a problem for the last year or so.

 

[Val]

When I worked with my OCD clients with autism I liked to use worry beads, shoe laces tied in lots and lots of knots (not in the shoe, but in their pocket!)....or any small manipulative puzzle. You can't get rid of the fidgety behavior, but you can push it towards something productive. Would your son enjoy working on those rope puzzles? We used to tie shoe laces in a series of knots and show the kids how to untie them, once they got the hang of that, we had them do it with their eyes CLOSED, and then manipulate the shoe lace while it was IN their pocket! Kept hands busy and not doing "bad" things- and, if we ever needed a knot-detangler expert, we had a plentiful supply!

Seriously, you can't take the fidgeting out of the kid, so you have to give him something appropriate to displace the behavior. Puzzles, manipulatives, etc., are much more appropriate. Besides, the puzzles teach terrific problem solving skills (well, maybe TOO good!)......

....good luck. I have a "typical" DS13 who is a fidgeter. Must be genetic, from my dad. If we keep his hands busy, he isn't drilling holes in desks, writing on walls, etc. No fun for the parents! But, think of the fine motor coordination your DS must have- perhaps a surgeon someday!

 

[lucigo]

Glad to hear its most likely a baby tooth, since it didn't have a large root that makes sense. Good luck and BIG HUGS!!!!

 

[bookwormde]

This thread has gotten me thinking that I should get a “tooth map” for my children from the dentist so if something happens I will know what I am dealing with.

bookwormde

 

[DisneyDreams4P&B]

Glad to hear its most likely a baby tooth, since it didn't have a large root that makes sense. Good luck and BIG HUGS!!!!

Hey Luci!!!

Thanks so much!! Hope to talk to you soon, I have to send you those tokens.

J.

 

[happily single]

I had posted about my ds9 doing this about 2 years ago. He actually pulled his two front teeth out 1 day apart. Only 1 was loose. Unfortunately he has a large gap in between his adult teeth now and I can't get him to go anywhere near a dentist since the unfortunate floride incident of 2003 NOt pretty.

My son also likes to pick at scabs, bug bites, etc, bite his fingers, toes and scratch at his eyes.

My best defense is to keep a close eye on him and occupy him when I catch him doing it.

Good luck

 

[Disneylvr]

I am so glad it was a baby tooth!!!!