Autism and Change: Losing Your First Baby Tooth

So, anyone who knows much about autism knows that change is very difficult for an autistic child. With my seven-year old son Toby, that is definitely true. I often sit and think about the natural life changes that Toby will have to approach as he ages, and I wonder how we will handle those changes. Today, the milestone is "losing your first baby tooth."

Having helped Belle through the loss of numerous baby teeth up to his point and knowing how close in age the two are to one another, I knew that Toby's day was close at hand. For about a week now Toby has been really interested in his teeth, and I just thought he was excited about actually wanting to brush his teeth and keep them clean. He kept coming up to me and saying, "Mom, where's my tooth? I think I lost it!" even though all of his teeth were still in his mouth. Since Toby often behaves in unusual ways like this, I didn't think too much of this.

This morning he was more insistent than usual that I check out his teeth. I actually took a close look and realized that one of his bottom front teeth was excessively loose, and the permanent tooth had already broken through the gums behind where the baby tooth was still in place. Guess Toby knew something was going on in his mouth after all! So, now I had to figure out how to help relieve him of his baby tooth while making a very positive experience rather than a traumatic one since this would be the first of many loose teeth.

Since "traumatic experiences" for Toby include such routine things as getting a hair cut and taking a different route to the grocery store, I was very nervous about how he would handle his mom wanting to yank a tooth out of his tender little gums. I fretted a bit as I searched in vain for some dental floss. Finally I told him that it was so cool that his tooth was loose, but we would have to go to the store to get some floss to help it come out...then the tooth fairy could come!

In the meantime everyone sat down to breakfast. Halfway through the meal Toby excused himself from the table and said he had to go to the bathroom. He came back a few minutes later and said very seriously, "Mom, I need a band-aid for my tooth." A band-aid for his tooth? I checked out his mouth and the gums were bleeding all around the loose baby tooth--no more time to wait for dental floss or reinforcements.

"Okay, Toby, let's go find a band-aid for your tooth." I took him up to my bathroom to look for some gauze while trying to explain to him that we have to use a different kind of "band-aid" for a tooth. I asked him to show me his mouth and once he finally would I gently pushed my fingernail under the bottom of his tooth and popped it right out of his mouth. It was loose enough that he didn't really feel anything and it didn't bleed for long. I made sure he saw how "exciting" it was and that he could show his daddy his tooth when he came home from work.

I am just thrilled that we were able to cross this bridge with a positive experience than another "traumatic one." Yeah for Toby! So, one life change situation down, a million more to go!