Teeth Pulling

[krisline]

My son is 8 years old and has pulled out a total of 9 teeth in less then a month's time. These include two canine teeth and a molar. I brush his teeth every night as I always worry that he will miss some areas and I also check for loose teeth. He brushes his own teeth in the morning. The teeth that he has pulled are not loose at all. He has a cognitive delay and is in a life skills class. He is currently seeing a psychiatrist, and has counseling. They believe it is an obsessive compulsive anxiety disorder and have prescribed 12.5 mg of LUVOX, short for fluvoxetine (not PROZAC). If anyone has experienced this, and has any advice- I would love to know what else we can do.

Thanks

 

[pigless in VA]

Good morning, krisline. I wanted to welcome you to a place where parents are understanding and have many times experienced the same thing.

How long has he been on the luvox? If it hasn't been long, perhaps it hasn't reached a therapeutic level yet. Have you tried rewarding him for NOT pulling on his teeth? I'm not exactly sure how you could implement that; I'm basically thinking and typing. Perhaps each day he doesn't lose a tooth, the tooth fairy should leave him a little something. I remember my son wanting to pull his teeth in order to get money from the tooth fairy. Once he left shark's teeth under his pillow in the hopes that he could fool the tooth fairy.

I have a 5 year old child in my class with Tourette's and sometimes his ticking can be repulsive. Occasionally, he can switch the tick into one that is less repugnant. I don't know if that is possible with the compulsion to pull teeth, but it's something to work with the counselor (therapist) on.

I know you must feel terribly frustrated by this behavior. Hang in there! You won't feel alone in your struggles here.

 

[Liahona]

difficult child 2 has pulled his own teeth out before; though not 9 of them. He has pulled one or two. I'm not sure if one of them was loose before he started on it. Have you tried giving him something else to do with his hands? difficult child 2 would do it at night before he went to sleep. I let him have books in bed to look at and he stopped. Your son might need something else. Is it the money or the sensory or the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) that is fueling this? Maybe a something taped or glued to a board. If he'll be safe with them maybe picking staples out a board? Have you talked to an Occupational Therapist (OT) about this?

Welcome to the board.