May 22, 2013 
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Dental Success for Jacob Sipple

 

Jacob Sipple, age 21, of Milton, Delaware likes hiking, biking, camping and canoeing with his family, but never going to the dentist.  According to his mom, Angie, he has moderate to severe autism and extreme anxiety.  Dental care was one area that made him very anxious.  Adverse reaction to Atavan made them leery of anesthesia, but helping him keep his mouth open had its own consequences.

 

"His mouth is the one thing," Angie said. "We couldn't get him to open his mouth for doctor visits or dental visits."

 

That made dental cleanings a challenge, since they did not want to use sedation.  Angie said, "They forced his mouth open with a prop while one of us and another person held him in place.  Then the hygienist would have her arm around his neck, keeping him as still as she could as she did the cleanings.  But he would come out of that with swollen lips from all the prodding and forcing, sometimes a little bleeding.  Our feeling to not use general sedation certainly had its consequences." 


"He needed consistency and hands-on practice," she said.  

 

Once Jacob turned 18, and was aging out of hospital-based dentistry, they sought services closer to home.  At first, one Smyrna dentist said yes.  "They decided they couldn't do it once they saw him. One of our two family dentists said "absolutely not and the other said he would be willing to try.  But we felt we needed to get Jacob to a certain point before we would even try it with that dentist.  We knew this was going to be an ongoing need to keep his teeth healthy with no sedation," Angie said.

 

Angie had heard of Practice Without Pressure and decided the time was right to try it.  She knew it would be a commitment, requiring "at least once a week and no less than every two weeks until we got to a point where we reduced his anxiety to let people into his mouth. We knew he needed consistency and hands-on practice," she said.    

 

"We did over a year of practice sessions.  I re-evaluated at six months to see whether it was worth the time and expense, as we were doing it out of pocket," Angie said.  Deb Jastrebski, company founder, thought they could pick up pace and require more of Jacob, if Angie agreed. 


     "When he was able to do the x-rays, I was completely overwhelmed by it.                                                                                I think I teared up." 

 

"I had to relinquish my control in this process as well and let them go through the process that they needed to do.  That was hard for me.  It was definitely a process for both of us, but once I gained my confidence in what was happening and that they knew what they were doing, I didn't even go in the room with him."

 

In June 2011, Jacob had his first bitewing x-rays without being held down.  Recalled Angie, "It was definitely huge.  He was able to open his mouth for 15 seconds, no hands on him at all.  That's all he's ever known. When he was able to do the x-rays, I was completely overwhelmed by it. I think I teared up. After this many years of watching how the dental worked for us, I was hoping for this, but I really didn't think we could get there." 

 

He finished the x-rays over several sessions.  That September, he saw Dr. Chad Anzilotti for a dental exam and was back two different days to complete cleanings with the dental hygienist.

 

"We need to continue with having dental at PWP for awhile just to keep that consistency and trust and then my goal is to transition to the local dentist," Angie said.  

 
Practice Without Pressure, Inc.
2470 Sunset Lake Road
Newark, DE 19702
(302) 832-2800
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