Shirley Gutkowski, RDH, BSDH

As the number of children diagnosed with autism continues to grow, it’s important for you and your team members to know what products to avoid and what products work best when treating patients on the autism spectrum in your practice.

Autism is a fact of life for many families who come to your dental practice.

What does that mean for your practice and, more importantly, what products can be used safely in patients who are considered toxified or are cured but are still sensitive to product choices and ingredients commonplace to the practice of dental hygiene?

Most importantly, we need to know about autism treatments.

There are two product categories that families avoid if someone in the family is on the autism spectrum: gluten and dairy.

  and other gluten-free polishing pastes are great options for patients with autism.

Dairy-free remineralization ingredients are also great. Products like 

, which contains hydroxyapatite molecules are well received, as are products containing NovaMin.

Low-level topical fluorides may be well received or at least better received than products with high levels of fluoride.

Triage sealant material is a must-have as it promotes enamel healing, acts as a physical barrier and has none of the issues traditional fluoride varnishes, smart varnishes, and most resin sealant materials have. Those issues include either potentially toxic levels of fluoride, potential ingestion of fluoride, pine resin base, or Bisphenol A, which is found in some resin products.

Glass ionomers have nearly medicinal properties, and may be used as temporary filling material in frank, open, and incipient lesions.

Proximal lesions on adjacent teeth may be repaired using Phocol fluoride disks from Colldent. Highly specific discs are just 3 mm in diameter and can be placed with very little drama at any appointment, preventive or prosthetic.

Because of its extremely pinpoint location, the fluoride given via phocol discs may be better received than a general fluoride treatment. It can be explained as an isolated treatment for a tenuous condition on a single tooth or area.

Fluoride may be a difficult sell to families with children on the autism spectrum, and that means non-fluoride options better be high on your practice’s protocol development list.

Xylitol products are fantastic for this group of patients. They can tolerate the all-natural plant-based xylitol. There is some misinformation on the Internet that may keep some from using xylitol products.

Become educated on all sides of the xylitol story by visiting 

. Some parents may lean toward stevia, for instance, as a natural sweetening option. While great as an ingredient or additive for hot or cold drinks, there are few studies on stevia and oral health/dental decay.

Erythritol is another story! Truvia is nearly all erythritol. As another sugar alcohol, erythritol has some interesting studies showing dental benefits, although xylitol is still the go-to sugar for dental health.

Radiation is always going to raise a red flag to those who are trying to remain or regain health. Low radiation is not as good as no radiation.

Fluorescence technology can really set minds at ease and allow clinicians to gather more data than they could from traditional radiographs.

Transillumination is an option, too, however that shows only enamel breakdown, not the quality of biofilm accumulation.

Start to gather intel on Autism Spectrum Disorder and how autism is successfully treated today.

The Autism Experience on Cross Link Radio

, is a good starting point. Look for products that fit the sensibilities of these families and you may find a wonderful way to treat all families.

Articles

What products to avoid and what products work best with autistic patients

Ready to expand from the clinical to the business side of dentistry? Knowing how to communicate is key. Here’s what you need to know about the dos and don’ts of text messaging. 

Career transitions mean you’ll need to learn new skills and 

Can you communicate in a corporate manner? Do you even know what that means? Let us fill you in a bit to help shorten the learning curve. So it won’t take you two jobs to find out you did something wrong let’s look at the most important brief communication to address: texting.   

Imagine you’re driving on your way to an appointment, and because you’re right on time the railroad-crossing gate comes down and you hear the train whistle in the background, putting you in a long line of parked cars. It dawns on you this is a good time to contact Holly 

 at Meager Money Monopoly who you met at a recent event. Using your time productively, you write the following:

 Good morning. I have a request for information. Our state of XYZ Dental Hygiene board has basically no money… hence the question that is comi (you run out of room, hit send and start fresh)

 because of new laws??? For donations through companies? In any case I wondered if Wanda Worker could help us out or any other ideas…thanks. Meeting with (run out of room again, send next box)
	
	

ng your way. We have not been able to find any speakers for Annual meeting in May.  Our reps are not even offering anything…

Reread what you just wrote. Can you make sense of it?  Holly will need note paper to address your text once she has deciphered the content and intent.  Is that how you want to develop your relationship?

Holly, in the meantime, is struggling through a massive project that developed a glitch that will take at least 10 calls to 10 people to iron out. Her other obligations are waiting in the wings and she’s really hungry. Now this text comes through with no context, no signature, no nothing.

If you were Holly your only options would be:

1.     Return text with a question mark and put you into her “time waster” category.

2.     Return text with a yelling smiley asking what it’s about and put you in her “time waster” category.

3.     Delete the text and return to work, feel guilty for the next few hours and remember the bad feeling next time she has an interaction with you.

You, on the other hand, are back to driving to your appointment. This kind of text can poison any business relationship, and abort any fledgling relationship you may be nurturing. The above message is for an email. If you have text on your phone you likely also have the ability to email.

So that’s an obvious example. What are some other shorter examples of text messages that will drive 

ome out of the blue with a short request: 

CAT scan, she’s having headaches and needs a scan from insurance

Another often placed bad text is the million text cluster or 

You: I’m driving and won’t be in front of my computer for 15 more minutes
	

Expect that you won’t get an answer plus you’re entered into the “time waster” category again. Unless it’s an emergency and there’s only one place to find that information, the head of the text receiver, just wait until you get to your source for information. To your boss or superior at work this makes you look disorganized or, worse, disrespectful of their time.

Before you send a text, think to yourself:

1.     What is the person on the other side of this text doing right now?

2.     Is this a good time for the receiver to get a text or just a good time for me to send one?

3.     Is sending a text going to clear something up for the receiver or start a frustrating volley?

4.     Would it be better as an email and a request for a phone call?

5.     Is it better to text a request for a call to talk about the information you’d be sending in a longer text?

Some don’ts about texting in the business setting:

1.     Don’t text a note that says you sent you an email or left a voice mail.

2.     Don’t ask a busy person for an email, password, phone number, login or Web address. It can wait until you get to your computer.

3.     Don’t ask about something that takes a big explanation like a schedule for an event or day

4.     Don’t ask for something that it would be really easy for you to find if you Googled it. Don’t text a picture of your dinner to anyone you work with

5.     Don’t use 20 separate texts to let someone know something

6.     Don’t try to make an elaborate plan via texting. Call instead.

2.     Keep questions to yes or no type answers

3.     If you’re stuck in traffic let the other person know you’re going to be late and include the minutes you expect to be delayed

4.     If you send a long overly detailed text expect it to be deleted

 and Beth Thompson are career coaches at 

 Members of CAREERfusion are offered skills building from computer to interviewing and networking with industry leaders looking for motivated and skilled people to hire as employees, or to work on projects like article writing, presentations, or multiple other things. CAREERfusion is in the opportunity business.