Creating a Positive Dental Experience for Children with Autism:

Creating a positive dental experience for children with Autism requires sensitivity, understanding, and expertise. At Hapy Bear Surgery Center, our compassionate team is dedicated to providing a safe, welcoming environment that supports the unique needs of each child, ensuring they feel at ease and comfortable with their visit.

Understanding the Unique Needs of Autistic Children

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have heightened senses and sensitivities.  This makes them more susceptible to feeling overwhelmed by sounds, smells, bright lights and other stimuli in a new or unfamiliar setting. Our dental team is trained to recognize and accommodate these sensitivities.
 

Customized Preparation and Communication

We know that preparation and clear communication are essential to a good experience.  Prior to the exam and treatment appointments, we work closely with parents and caregivers to understand each child’s situation, medical history and past experiences with dental care. This helps us provide the best and safest care plan and address any concerns. All children are required to have an exam visit prior to treatment.  This pre-treatment visit is beneficial as it allows you and your child to visit the facility, meet some of our team, and familiarize yourself with the environment in a calm and non-invasive approach.
 

A Sedation Option for Anxiety-Free Care

We exist for children that need general anesthesia to make their dental treatment possible.  This includes children with Autism, anxiety or those that have had a traumatic dental experience in the past.  Our qualified and compassionate team does their best to alleviate every child’s stress and make the treatment visit as smooth as possible for both the child and parent/guardian.  
 

Follow-Up and Ongoing Support

After the treatment visit, we provide instructions and guidance to parents for post sedation care.  We are committed to providing clear postoperative instructions and support, should you have any questions or concerns after the treatment. We check on each child treated with postoperative phone calls the day after treatment, two weeks after treatment and 1 month after treatment.  We also have a 24-hour emergency call service in case of any questions or concerns.
 

Partnering with Hapy Bear Surgery Center 

We understand that each child is unique, and we are here to work collaboratively with families and their referring offices.  Being treated while asleep under general anesthesia is not necessary for every child, however, it is very helpful for those that cannot get through treatment without being sedated.  With our expertise, compassionate and safety-first approach, we strive to turn dental care for children with autism into a less stressful experience.
 

If you feel that your child would be best served with our specialized approach of having treatment done under general anesthesia, ask your dentist to refer you to Hapy Bear Surgery Center.  Schedule an exam appointment by calling (559) 732-4279.