Help Your Child Not Be Afraid of a Dentist

March 17th, 2010 by Bill E. Kidd

Taking your child to a dentist at least twice a year is part of any parent’s responsibilities. After all, regular dental checkups for kids can help them prevent gingivitis or tooth decay and cavities. If you’re one of the millions of parents who have kids who are afraid of the dentist, you may struggle with the idea of dragging them there twice a year.

These tips can help ease your child’s fears about the dentist:

Find A Child Dentist
Even if your whole family has seen the same dentist for twenty years, you may want to think about taking your fearful child to a pediatric dentist. It may be a little burdensome to not have the whole family with the same dental office but it could be very important to your child’s overall emotional health. Pediatric dentists are skilled in dental procedures and equipped to handle any fearful child with ease.

Take Your Child To The Dentist Early In Life
Many times the children who are most fearful of the dentist are those who weren’t taken to the dentist until a problem arose with their teeth. If you don’t want your children to fear the dentist, be sure their first few visits are pleasant and not treatment oriented. Instead, schedule them for teeth cleanings or xrays to get them use to the idea of coming to the dentist on a positive note. Talk with your dentist about establishing these positive dental experiences with your child.

Allow Your Child To Be Distracted
Your first instinct may be to force your child to leave their blanket or favorite stuffed toy at home while they visit the dentist but allowing them to bring these items with them might actually help distract them from being there in the first place. Older children who are fearful might like to listen to music through headphones while at the dentist, which can also be a good distraction method.

Give Your Child Treats When They Do Well
There is nothing wrong with rewarding a child for a job well done. So, before taking your child to the dentist talk to them about what a proper reward might be if they comply in a positive way with the dentist. Younger children might like extra television time or an extra trip to the neighborhood park. Older kids might like to rent a movie or be able to stay up a little past their bedtime.

Consider Dental Sedation For Extremely Fearful Kids?
The issue of whether dental sedation should be used on fearful kids is completely up to the child’s parents. Most dentists are comfortable using things like nitrous oxide on their younger patients to help them relax during dental procedures but others will offer more extreme sedation choices to parents of very fearful children.

Tags: fear of dentist, kids fears