DENTAL ADVICE FOR THOSE WITH AUTISM AND ADHD
- Megan Winter
- May 20
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 2
Having autism, ADHD, maybe other disabilities like being in pain, low mobility or fatigue, or being mentally unwell and very depressed, all affect your ability to do simple hygiene tasks, like dental hygiene.
For some, it might be you have no energy or motivation to brush your teeth.
For some, it might be you forget to do it.
For some the sensory issues make you hate doing it.
I’m solely going to talk about how I cope with it. I also have a very kind dentist who understands my AuDHD and when I was depressed I struggled with brushing and she gave me some great advice.
So, for me, I would forget to brush them, but I’m physically disabled and in a lot of pain and exhaustion, and the thought of getting up out of bed to brush my teeth to stand at the sink was too much, so I would go days sometimes up to a week without doing it and only doing it when I hated the feeling of unbrushed teeth in my mouth and my breath starting to smell.
My dentist listened to me, and said “Well why don’t you do it in bed? Keep your toothbrush and toothpaste next to your bed and brush them there.”
This made me stop and think: Why can’t I brush my teeth in bed?
If I see them next to me, and I don’t have to get up, surely that would make it easier for me to brush?
So I did this, got my toothbrush, and toothpaste, and I always have my water bottle, and a empty plastic bottle to spit into. You don’t want to have to repeatedly clean a cup to spit into either, so a disposable plastic bottle is best. And something to wipe your mouth with, tissue or a cloth works either way.
I went from barely brushing my teeth to moving up to sometimes once a day. Of course, I would not be doing it twice a day, but it was better than the alternative.
When I told my dentist that I struggled to brush them more than once a day, she said, “ok, but you went from not brushing them more than once a week, to nearly brushing them every day. All that extra brushing you’ve been doing is much better than not brushing at all. Even if you don’t feel like brushing them or the sensory is too much, even if you just do 10 seconds, it’s still better to do that than not brushing at all. And if you do start brushing, you’ll more likely find that if you get to 10 seconds because you’re already doing it, you’ll just continue until you’re finished.”
So again, I started using this “eh might as well” method, and it’s true, once I start brushing I might as well continue.
It doesn’t have to be the full 2 minutes.
She also taught me how to brush my teeth, as many people do it wrong, or brush too harshly and damage the gums. Also, she prescribed me a high fluoride toothpaste to protect my teeth for when I can’t brush them.
I use this about once a week as it does cause some yellowing if you use it every day. Despite some claims that fluoride is bad and shouldn’t be added to toothpaste, countless studies have proved its benefit in adult and children’s dental health. So avoid any fluoride-free toothpaste unless you’ve specifically been told not to by a medical professional.
I found I don’t like certain toothpastes, that are too minty.
The company HiSmile does make many different flavoured toothpastes if you can’t or hate mint. There are many different ones like vanilla, cheesecake, mango sorbet, apple etc.
I personally prefer the mint ones just not the ones that burn like crazy or have that sour baking soda taste. This is the one I use pictured below.
It has a mild non burning minty taste.
She said once you’ve brushed your teeth, do not rinse it out with water. This washes all the fluoride off your teeth, meaning it doesn’t do its job. So do not eat or drink anything 15-30 mins after brushing your teeth. So many people are not taught how to brush correctly.
Now as for the toothbrush itself, I know that I do not like the vibrations of an electric one, and thought if I just used a manual one that it would do a good job. But when I used a magnifying mirror once I had just brushed, I looked and saw soft plaque still on my teeth, despite me brushing hard. So I bit the bullet and bought an electric one. I didn’t want to spend a bunch of money on an expensive oral b one if I weren’t going to use it.
So I bought this one:
It’s not amazing, but it’s still going to perform better than manual alone. But, like my dentist said, “brushing with manual is still better than not brushing at all”. And she’s right. If you don’t brush your teeth as you don’t like the sensory issues of electric ones, then use a manual. It is better to at least brush with a manual than not brushing at all.
Now, flossing is one of those things that I absolutely hated doing, and still do, and would avoid it unless I felt food stuck and had to get it out.
The problem is brushing alone does not get rid of all the food particles in between your teeth. These create the soft plaque, that when left, over time turns into hard plaque, that needs to be scraped off your tooth.
Now if you haven’t flossed regularly, when you do for the first time you are going to bleed. And you probably will every time for a few weeks. But if you’re consistent with it, the bleeding stops, because the gums become healthier.
There are three main ways of flossing.
1) is the standard string floss that you unravel, cut, wrap around your fingers and use to floss. I hate this method as it hurts my fingers, I have a bad jaw so struggle to get into every gap, and I’m more likely to not floss because of it.
2) is a water flosser, it creates a jet of water that you use to floss in between your teeth. If you have sensory issues, this maybe too much for you, or you find it actually easier than regular flossing. So here’s a cheap but good one off amazon
I suggest using either warm water or room temp, especially if you have sensitive teeth and cold water hurts. And start on the lowest setting.
One issue though is your mouth does fill up with water quickly, and this might be a messy ordeal if you’re going to be doing it in bed.
So that’s why I prefer method
3) Toothpick flossers like these ones
They have a tight piece of floss held in the plastic, and it’s more accessible if you have poor hand strength or if like me you can’t open your jaw wide. And it’s much easier to use. I just wipe it after each tooth section. There’s also a plastic pick on the end to use.
Now the correct method of dental hygiene is to floss first, both ways like water pick and floss, do first. It removes the food from the teeth first, meaning there’s no food being stuck and covering a part of your tooth so when you’re brushing you have full contact with the teeth. Also, flossing requires you rinsing after, which you don’t want to do after you’ve brushed.
So, floss first, clean your tongue either with the brush, or use a scraping tool, but this is only if you want to. Rinse your mouth with water and spit. Then brush your teeth.
If you’re in a stage where you have neglected to brush and you’ve got some plaque built up, but you either can’t afford or are scared to go to the dentist or hygienist to have them cleaned, you can buy these tools to scrape the plaque off.
They are cheap and easy to use. I find using an ear endoscope camera that you can attach to your phone or tablet gives you the best view than the mirror, one like this:
It gives you a great view of each tooth, and is much easier to use to clean and scrape plaque off. It’s also great to clean your ears with but that’s a separate thing.
Now, I’ve been very lucky dental health wise.
Even when I had leukaemia as a teenager, despite all the chemo and steroid damage to nearly my entire body and bones, my teeth didn’t deteriorate, as they expected it too.
I’ve never had a cavity or filling, or tooth removed. It makes me even more scared to cause any damage due to my neglect.
So instead of trying to fight my AuDHD, I’m just trying to live with it, and making my life easier and more manageable so I can do hygiene tasks like brushing my teeth.
There are no rules when it comes to your body and health. The rule brush for 2 minutes and flossing twice a day, and at the bathroom sink was made for healthy non disabled, mentally well, neurotypical people. If you’re have tried to do this and it does not work for you, change that, to make it work for you.
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