As a parent, the last thing you want is for your child that your child fears for a Dentist. If your youngster suffers from dental anxiety, the wrong thing to do is simply put off treatment or let him or her skip the appointment. As difficult as it can be to sit a crying, upset child in a dental chair for treatment, caring for your little one’s developing mouth is more important, especially since untreated decay, gum disease, or other issues can become much more painful and difficult to treat if allowed to progress.
Following are some ways with the help of which you can overcome your child’s dental fear:
1. Start Early: According to some research, your child should see the dentist for the first time is around his/her first birthday. The earlier you get your child to the dentist’s office, the better. Introducing your child to the dental office environment early helps establish a sense of understanding that your chosen children’s dentist is here to help, not harm. It also gives you the opportunity to build trust with the dental team so you’re just as comfortable at your child’s visits as he is.
2. Make it Fun: Before you bring your child to his first dental visit, consider doing some role playing at home. Pretend to be a dentist, put on a mask and some gloves, and have your child recline and relax. Gently poke in his mouth with your fingers and simulate an actual dental appointment. Not only will your child feel comfortable with you, he’ll also be relaxed in in his own home. You can even take turns and allow him to become the dentist and poke around in your mouth. Count teeth, look at them in a mirror, use a spare toothbrush to brush the teeth on his favourite toys. Turning dental care into a fun game at home can really help in making a visit to children’s dentist more relaxing and easy.
3. Keep Secrets: When it comes to dental care, you need to keep secrets about your own dental fear or any experience which turned out to be horrible. This important because if the parent is scared if something there’s a good chance that the child will fear it too. So, avoid discussing any bad experiences or using negative words like “hurt”, “shot”, or “pain”.
4. Talk About It: Let’s say you’ve already conquered your child’s first dental visit. And it didn’t go very well. If you know ahead of time that your child is scared of the dental office, tell your children’s dentist and dental team. Dental teams that work with children are trained to recognize dental fear and are skilled in ways to help.
5. Visit Regularly: Like many other things, a visit to children’s dentist tend to get a lot easier with repetition. This is just one of many reasons your child’s annual appointments are so important. Make sure you keep scheduled dental appointments to both help your child ease any fear and monitor his oral health for proper development.
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