Free Pictures for a Dentist Visit: Visual Supports for Autistic and Non-Speaking People
Updated: 3 days ago
A dentist visit can be one of the hardest everyday situations for a profoundly autistic, non-speaking person. The place is unfamiliar, the chair tilts back, the light is bright and noisy instruments go into the mouth. Everything happens close to the face, and the person may not be able to ask what will happen next.
Pictures make the visit predictable. When you can see the steps in advance, in the same order they will happen, the dental clinic is no longer a completely unknown place.
A dentist visit in pictures
The Lainattu Rauha® picture bank has pictures for the whole visit. Here they are in the order a regular check-up usually goes:
Dental clinic
Dentist
In the dental chair
Safety glasses and bib
Dental light
I open my mouth
Dental examination
Teeth polishing
Fluoride on teeth
Dental clinic Dentist In the dental chair Safety glasses and bib Dental light I open my mouth Dental examination Teeth polishing Fluoride on teeth
If teeth need treatment
If teeth will be filled during the visit, take the pictures of the dental suction and the dental drill with you too. The sound of the drill and the feeling of the suction in the mouth are the hardest part of the visit for many people, so it helps to show them in advance.
Dental suction in the mouth Dental drill in use
Pictures for adults too
Dentist visits are part of adult life too. The dental examination picture is also available as an adult man and an adult woman. Over 700 pictures in the picture bank show adults, and more will be added as needs come up.
Dental examination, adult man Dental examination, adult woman
How to use the pictures
Look at the pictures together for a few days before the visit. Repetition makes them familiar.
Choose only the pictures that belong to this visit. If the drill is not needed, there is no need to show it.
Take the pictures with you to the clinic and show each picture when that step begins.
Tell the dentist or the dental nurse about the pictures. They can show a picture before each step too.
When the visit is over, show what happens next. That way the person knows the visit has ended.
When a tooth hurts
A non-speaking person cannot always tell you that their mouth hurts. The picture bank has a Toothache picture that can be used to show pain.
Read also When Symptoms Cannot Be Described in Words.
Download the pictures for free
The Lainattu Rauha® picture bank has over 2,600 pictures for everyday life with profound autism. Every picture is available in colour and in black and white, and you can type your own text on a picture before printing. The picture bank is free and needs no registration.
Search for example for tooth or dentist to find the pictures in this article and the toothbrushing pictures.
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Pictures © Lainattu Rauha®
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