Visiting the dentist can be a nerve wracking experience. Going to a strange new place and having to sit still in a chair while a person you do not know feels around in your mouth with metallic objects, along with strange smells and the sound of the drill can be unsettling for children. If your child shows signs of being upset at the thought of going to the dentist, try the following tips to put their minds at ease.
Explain the importance of excellent oral care at a young age. Educating your child on the importance of brushing and flossing their teeth after every meal, as well as using mouthwash, is a must to maintain their understanding of good oral care. Once this is established, discuss what a dental office is for and why everyone needs to go there for a checkup. You do not have to go into great detail, in fact the less you explain the better. If you start talking about all the tools used, or what a cavity is, a child could become afraid. Instead, just focus on having as many positive answers as possible. Avoid saying things like “it’s not going to hurt,” or “everything’s going to be okay”. It will calm your child if you say something like “If the dentist finds any sugar bugs (cavities), they can get them out so they stop hiding in your teeth”. Also try not to use words like ‘shot’, ‘drill’, or ‘pain’.
You should also begin dental visits with your child as early as possible. It is recommended that all children have their first dental visit by the time their first tooth erupts or by their first birthday. The sooner your child experiences a dental office and meets your family dentist, the more comfortable they will be at future visits. Many children who are initially taken at a later age are more uncooperative at their visits.
A child’s first dental visit does not take long. At the appointment, your child will get to meet the paediatric dentist. It is not necessary to perform a dental clean, but instead the dentist may just try counting the child’s teeth out loud and let them have a ride in the dental chair. The more your child goes in for appointments, the more comfortable they are in the dental office. It is not only a great way to make them happier at future visits, but starting this young helps prevent build up and decay.
Paediatric dentists know many techniques for calming a nervous child, one of them is praise. Whenever a child does something right, the dentist will praise the child and so will his staff. Praise is one simple method for making a child feel more relaxed in any environment. Another technique is called the Tell-Show-Do technique. The dentist will show the child an instrument and explain what the instrument is used for. He may even let the child hold the instrument and examine it.
If you are taking your child to the dentist for their first dental appointment, it is highly recommended that you stay with the child throughout the appointment. For very young children, it is recommended that you stay with the child regardless if it is his or her first visit. For older children, it is believed that the dentist-child communication works much better if the parent stays in the reception area during the child’s appointment.
With thanks to Dr Gallia Balish, Specialist Paediatric Dentist.