Man­ag­ing Den­tal Appoint­ments with Hid­den Dis­abil­i­ties & Sen­so­ry Sen­si­tiv­i­ties: A UK Patient’s Guide

While neurotypical individuals might be able to process this situation and manage their feelings, neurodivergent individuals could find it completely overwhelming.

The last thing you should do is avoid dental appointments due to discomfort. This can lead to widespread problems for your oral health and your wider health.

Finding the right dental practice can help you to manage your anxiety and feelings of discomfort, as your dentist will be on your side and supporting you every step of the way.

Why are dental appointments more difficult for some people?

A dental checkup will often push you outside of your comfort zone and result in unusual sensory experiences. It can also be loud, with the sounds of machines and dental tools. Textures can also be very varied and unfamiliar, from the feeling of the dentist’s chair to the gloves that will touch the inside of your mouth.

For the neurotypical, these things might feel strange, but they won’t have any issue processing them. For those with hidden disabilities and the neurodivergent, the sensations can be overwhelming.

In some situations, the sensations will be so overwhelming that it becomes too much to handle. It becomes a threatening sensation and the person might feel extreme fear. Thankfully, there are ways to overcome this fear and make dental checkups more manageable.

How can your dentist help?

If you have hidden disabilities or you identify as neurodivergent, all it takes is a simple conversation with your dentist. If you can explain which parts of the checkup feel uncomfortable, we can address this and take steps to ease your discomfort.

Making your dental checkup more comfortable will be completely unique to you. How we approach it will be all about getting to the root of the issue.

Remember that you don’t need to prove anything or provide evidence of a medical diagnosis in order to access this help. We won’t ask for a specific diagnosis, but any information you can give us will help to inform your care plan.

You can also request extra time for your appointment, which can help to avoid the feeling of being rushed. While a fast paced appointment might be fine for some people, this rapid fire change in sensations can leave some patients feeling overwhelmed.

It can also make it harder for them to ask questions about their care, as they are caught up in processing the physical sensations that they aren’t thinking about what they need to get out of the appointment.

What can help with sensory overload at the dentist?

What can help with sensory overload will all depend on which parts of the appointment you find overwhelming. For some people, it’s the harsh lighting. We can turn off the overhead lights if this is the case. For others, it might be the rapid change in sensations. We can slow down your checkup in this case and give you more time to process the sensory changes.

Some people are highly fearful of touch and don’t like to be touched without warning. If this is the case, we can break the checkup down into steps, asking permission before moving forward so that you always feel in control.

Another common fear is due to sensory overload from lots of things happening at once. Some people find it comforting to listen to music in noise cancelling headphones to block out the sounds of the dental practice.

Final thoughts on additional requirements

When it comes to dental care, it’s far more important to us that you keep up with your dental checkups. Whatever we can do to help make this a possibility for those with hidden disabilities and sensory sensitivities, we would consider this to be a part of standard dental care.

All it takes to get your dental checkup customised to your needs is a simple conversation with our team. You don’t have to prove anything or have a medical diagnosis; we’re happy to adapt appointments to the needs of the patient, so you can focus on taking excellent care of your teeth.