Fear of Making a Dental Mold

The dentist can give him laughing gas though, or something to make him loopy. If its important to his dental health then you should go with drugs.

Have you tried practicing with a mouth guard? I believe you can buy one in the pharmacy area at Walmart or Walgreens. Start with letting him get used to just the guard in his mouth, then when he is comfortable with that, fill it with toothpaste and have him sit with that for a few minutes. That should give him an idea what the actual procedure would be like. I also second the laughing gas idea. I love that stuff when I get nervous about a dental procedure. I would get it for my regular check-up, but they won't let me! LOL :-P
Good luck,
A.

It took the doc, a dental college professor, and 3 nurses to hold my hubby down while he was retching, gagging, puking, and fighting for his life while getting his mold done. He lived through it.

If the child needs it then by all means. If the doc can't figure out how to do it then I would change docs. He could hold Mr. Thirsty himself to suction out his mouth while the stuff is in there and have some control. Otherwise I might go to the pediatrician and get some Valium to keep him calm. Nearly out of it but awake. He would need to take a dose earlier in the day then another just before the appointment. That way it would build up in his system slowly, a very mild dose. If the appointment is early in the morning he would take one before bed then one when he was about to leave for the appointment.

Call a nearby medical school that has a dental school attached. They might be able to do a mold under general anesthesia, they could run any tubes through his nose. If they put some sort of rubber dam in the back of his mouth that is attached to something in the front he could not swallow it and choke, nor would he be able to get material in his airway.

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TMI for most after this point, it's just an idea that might work.....

Just an after thought, I know it's off the wall but just bear with me okay????

Slumber Parties sells an oral lotion that allows a person to not gag when....things are in their mouth. It is a drop or two on the finger then it's rubbed on the roof of the mouth. It stops the gag reflex.

I know, it sounds horrid to think of giving it to a child but "if" it works.

Slumber Parties is a place where a person can buy adult items. The sales person often has parties in the homes of ladies that want to buy items. I have seen ladies apply this then be able to put their fingers down their throats.

Here is a link to the product. This is an adult toy site people, don't go if you don't want to be there.

http://www.slumberparties.com/Checkout/productdetail.aspx...

How old is your son? If this is not a life or death thing - if the issue can be corrected at some time in the future, then wait till he's older and may have more control over his gag reflex. I totally sympathize with him - I've had to get molds done a few times and that stuff, though not bad tasting, is not pleasant. The worst part is it flows out of the mold when you press your teeth into it so it feels like you're going to smother on it, even though you know you're not. If he's young, it may just be too freaky to do.

It would be nice if they had some kind of computer scanner that could scan the inside of his mouth and make a mold from that - don't know if that technology exists.

EDIT: Angie has a great idea - I would use baking soda or fennel flavor toothpaste cause mint would be too harsh.

My daughter has sensory issues that have made dental visits hard but I have found lots of great advice on dental fear central. This page had many suggestions on gagging:

http://www.dentalfearcentral.org/fears/gagging/

I know the salt works well but I am not sure that could be used while doing the mold. I would give the Breathe Right Snoring Relief Spray a try. Good luck!

What about consulting a child and/or occupational therapist for some additional relaxation techniques or techniques to take his mind to "another place." I have a horrible gag reflex and I always need to breathe deeply through my nose for dental procedures. It's actually fairly commmon for kids to gag and/or throw up during the dental mold process. My son inherited my gag reflex and fortunately we were forewarned by a neighbor whose daughter did throw up. I made the appointment for first thing in the morning and didn't give him anything to eat or drink before the appointment. I warned the technician and she did it really quickly. He did gag and probably would've thrown up but for the fact he had an empty stomach. It got done though. Good luck.

You don't say how old your son is, but since he is needing a space maintainer I'm guessing between 6 and 11. There are prefabricated space maintainers that a dentist can purchase rather than taking impressions and having a custom one fabricated at a dental lab. However, since the dentist has to purchase an entire kit (which is expensive and not needed often) so not all dentists will have the prefab kind. I'd call around to different ortho and pedo offices and ask if they have the kit or if they have them custom made. And you are definitely right about no impressions on a sedated child! Very dangerous!

This is my reaction to just going to the dentist. :-) Well, almost.

I had a hurler but for the life of me I can't remember what they did. I think it was a different type of holder. I only remember that she started to gag so they just switched something. Seemed like old hat so I am surprised this is an issue 15 or so years later.

I feel his pain. Molds make me gag and dry heave. My dentist just kept
talking and talking to me. It is really not a long time period, but when it is in
your mouth it feels like hours. Good luck.

I'm no expert, but it sounds like he may have a sensory disorder. Seriously. Some people can not cope with smells, textures, tastes, or being touched. Maybe that's what is up with him. Is he easily put off about other things in the same way? Is he weird about food textures and flavors? Funny-time about being hugged, or clothes being to loose, too tight, things are too cold, too hot send him into fits and so on?

I'd talk with your pediatrician about this and see what they may suggest. In the interim, the book "The Out of Sync Child" may shed some light on things if it is sensory thing that's the problem.

Some dental offices do hypnosis and biofeedback in lieu of anesthesia for jittery patients. Maybe that is a solution?

Gamma G. I can't believe you went there! That is just weird and sick. I hope you don't consider that as an option A.. There has to be other more wholesome solutions other than something disgusting like that. We are talking about a child here...really. Like any sane mother would dare pull something scandalous like that out of her purse at the dentist's office in front of children for medical procedure. Shocking. What would the dentist say? Not to mention anything that could do that probably isn't safe.

That is exactly what is holding up my sister that is 56 years old from getting false teeth made. She has always had a phobia about the dentist. Whatever they have to put in her mouth to make a dental mold....NO WAY...she absolutly will not put it in her mouth...she says she feels like she can't breathe when it is in her mouth....she can't stand the taste of it...and she feels like she is gonna pass out. Now I know hers is the extreme case....but only time will tell if he will outgrow this fear.

This is a hard one. If there is any kind of sedative that is safe, I would try that, is even nitrous oxide not allowed? I don't know the in's and out's of that, but I would explore it.

Otherwise, could you get some of the material and slowly desensitize him to it at home? I mean baby steps. Let him smell it. Let him taste it w/out it in his mouth. Then get him to hold a small piece of it in his mouth. You get the idea. Tiny steps so he at least calms his gag reflex. Then think of some way to distract him during the procedure. First practice how to breathe, then get him to focus on a tv, you, magazine, whatever. Something that will hold his attention and let him focus on something else. Those are the basic steps I would try if I were you. Talk it over with the staff and see if they are ok with that and have any additions or alternatives to the above. Surely they have had this happen before, even if not to the same extent as your son.

Good luck! If none of the above works and you really must get it done now, maybe consider hypnosis? (not sure how old your little guy is).

yes, it is a danger to use anesthesia. Have you tried sedation? I'm betting you have.....

All I can say is...wait until he's older. He has to want to do this.