Navigating Dental Treatment with Sensory Differences

This week, for the Spring Equinox and World Oral Health Day, I’m sharing some self-care ideas for supporting yourself through dental treatment with sensory differences.

I’d been feeling quite proud of myself for handling the gum surgery and all it brought up (flashbacks etc) but then, boom, dental claim rejected.

So this whole episode about advocating for yourself, with sensory differences and other AuDHD traits and symptoms, while helpful, didn’t help me with the finances of it all as I’d thought I had been advocating for myself and don’t know enough about dentist language to be able to discern in the same way that the insurance people do. I’d never had to deal with it before. So while I’m improving with the self-compassion but am feeling pretty frustrated that am €500 short and need to pay out loads more in two weeks!

And that’s life!

Progress not perfection!

Healing being far from linear!

And, with my ongoing aim to not argue with reality and ask how any problem is actually trying to help me, I guess I needed the gum surgery and couldn’t have made it happen had I known it wouldn’t have been covered.

What I really notice is that even with my lack of dental and periodontal jargon knowhow, my attitude towards myself is kinder. For most of my 50 years, I’d have been, “I should have somehow KNOWN” whereas now I’m like, you know what? I’m not a dentist. I have no idea what any of the labels mean and that’s on them for being misleading and not at least having a glossary with lay terms.

How about YOU?

As you watched or listened and scanned all your parts (including your teeth!) from the soles of your feet to your soul, what needs YOUR attention?

Are you fobbing yourself off in any way?

Look after yourself and let me know what helps you do the far less pampery and indulgent but very important types of self-care in terms of looking after your teeth, your finances and this one and only body you have for your entire life…

Le grá (with love),

Eve

CHAPTERS

0:00 Finding support and community around sensory differences

0:43 Podcast introduction and Eve’s background

5:09 World Oral Health Day and anxiety about dental care

6:03 Neurodivergence, shame and struggles with dental hygiene

8:49 Advocating for sensory needs during dental treatment

11:42 Healing after surgery and the impact of long-term infection

15:04 Using the Feel. Love. Heal. framework for medical anxiety

17:52 Self-compassion and asking for support during treatment

23:10 Collective care and involving others in your healing

25:06 Encouragement to seek treatment and share experiences

27:18 Reflection and closing thoughts

LINKS

World Oral Health Day -

https://www.worldoralhealthday.org/

Book bonus videos - https://solestosoul.ie/book/yoga-videos/

Metta meditation - https://solestosoul.ie/2019/10/02/self-care-metta-meditation-for-when-the-news-is-especially-challenging/

#worldoralhealthday

#audhd

#trauma

#dentist

#solestosoulcarefortraumaandaudhd

#evemenezescunningham