Dentists and Hair Cuts

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Any tips on trying to get my 3 year old to cooperate with the dentist? I don't believe he'd even think about opening his mouth for the dentist. I know he needs to go. He brushes his own teeth twice a day but I know that he still needs to go for checkups.

Also, he has curly hair. I have been cutting his hair while he sleeps (and, in the process, have affirmed that it was never in the cards for me to be a cosmetologist) and it's tragic. I should never be allowed to handle scissors. I know he would not allow someone to cut his hair, so this one may be just a "continue to hack his hair while he sleeps" issue, but I don't believe I'd be any good at dental needs.

Hello,
My five year old also has issues with dentists and haircuts. Over times he's gotten to the point where he will let a professional cut his hair as long as they don't use the buzzers to clean the edges. We relied heavily on bribery. But he still strongly preffers to have me cut his hair and like you there's a reason I'm not a hair stylist.

Do you have any dentists in your area that specialize in children with dev. disabilities? If so I strongly recommend that as they know how to talk to kids to ease their anxiety and get some cooperation. Or they may be willing to give you drugs to sedate him if needed. that was recommends for our son and I'm not thrilled about it, but it might be the only way. We originally took him to a regular pediatric denstist but they had no idea how to handle my child, and he's very high functioning, as spectrum kids go.

Good luck,

My son is almost 8 now and can cope with getting his hair cut now. His grandparents started taking him to get his hair cut when his grampa was going for a haircut. I don't whether it was the different environment and people, or whether he simply got older and could cope better with it.

As for the dentist - we are still no further forward. He cannot tolerate the dentist even having his fingers in his mouth, far less any treatment. If he does need dental work he'll have to go to the dental hospital or local children's hospital so he can be sedated.

I highly recommend a pediatric dentist, we drive 20 mi. and it is worth it!
Although my kids were cooperative about opening their mouth for him, the staff was great about any sensory issues. We've dealt with lots of gag reflexes, taste and smell issues. We use "happy air" (gas) and have even had tranquilizers prescribed for tooth removal.
Even if the first visit only results in sitting in the chair it would at least be familiar for next time.
But I feel for you. This is tough for them and for you! I wish you well

Yup, bribery helped for us too. We called them "bravery gifts".

We use a social story - http://leechbabe.wordpress.com/2008/08/ ... ial-story/

Also we visit the dentist every 3 months and I count it as a success if my girls just sit in the chair.

Our dentist has said we can come in anytime for the girls to spend time getting comfortable with the noise / atmosphere of the dentists rooms.

We also use bribes - stickers and toothbrushes from the dentist and luckily for us there is a Pokemon/Pokeball vending machine just outside the dentist office and my girls get one each time we visit the dentist.

I also let the girls watch when I go to the dentist which has worked very well up until the last visit when we had a different dentist and she used a cleaning tool with a high pitched whine.

My oldest has decided she would like to be a dentist when she grows up, but not on people, an animal dentist

Youngest is still very unsure about the whole dentist thing but loves to chew on her toothbrush.

For haircuts we found a hairdresser who has fun cars and horses for the children to sit in and DVDs to watch while the haircut is happening. I still have to hold Heidi's head at times but the novelty of sitting on a carousel horse and watching a DVD works most of the time. For older kids they have Playstation games to distract them

I swear (up and down) by our pediatric dentist. I drive 35 minutes to see her. The whole office experience is based around making kids comfortable -- from fun decor to TV screens over the chair to prizes when they leave. My son cried the first few times (at 1.5 and 2) and has loved it ever since. They (dentist and assistant) were VERY good about it when he cried -- and worked super hard to gain his trust.

We are still struggling with the hair. My guy has straight hair -- and it shows any flubber in cutting. We were letting it go for a while -- and he looked a 70's rockstar (or a girl). We were getting A LOT of "oh she's so cute" and it was driving the grandparents crazy.

I finally broke down and BRIBED him (bad mommy). I let him watch Pingu during the cut ... and he picked a train afterwards. He cried a bit -- but it worked -- and he looks SO much better. I am hoping it gets easier each time. I am fine w/ doing it myself.

Funny aside. I cut his dad's hair. He is balding and I shave it down. When I went to cut my son's hair he cried, "no mommy, I like to have hair." He totally thought I was going to shave it all off.