It is very common for children to be afraid of the dentist. The office is a new environment, and it isn’t always a pleasant experience. While your child visits their pediatrician regularly for immunizations and check-ups during the first few years of life, they only see their dentist once or twice a year. So, let’s look at how to help your kids not be scared of the dentist.
Help Kids Not Be Scared of the Dentist
If you want to help your child feel more comfortable at the dentist’s office, then work with your kid’s dentist in Cedar Falls to normalize the experience. It takes a little extra time, but trying just one or two of these suggestions can make a huge difference.
Introduce the Dentist Early
For children who have never been to the dentist, taking them to visit the front office is a great way to normalize the experience and make it positive. Whenever you’re nearby, just walk in for five to ten minutes.
Stop to flip through a children’s magazine, play with a toy, or read a short story. Wave hi and goodbye to the friendly staff, and then go back to your business.
Challenge Expectations
If your child already fears the dentist, then taking them to the office when they don’t have an appointment can help to break down that anxiety a bit. Your child’s fear is based on negative past experiences.
Help them to challenge that assumption by making innocent trips to the dentist’s office. Pair these trips with fun activities or special treats.
Keep in mind: Both scenarios rely on your child having a more positive experience at your dentist’s office. For children with extreme dental anxiety, you may only be able to make it into the parking lot the first few times.
Increase proximity over time without over-extending your child’s threshold. It may take a while, but you will eventually be able to keep them calm enough to sit in the waiting room for a few minutes to help build more positive associations.
Find the Staff Who Work Best with Your Child
Every child is different. While all of your pediatric dentist’s staff are used to working with kids, your child may prefer one style of care over another.
If your child is showing anxiety or fear, then work with your dentist’s office to find who your child feels most comfortable with. It may not eliminate their fear, but any decrease in anxiety is a positive change.
Be Careful with Language
Much of the language we use with children to discuss routine dental work is anxiety-inducing. You should definitely discuss what will happen with your child, but be careful with your explanation.
Avoid using any terms that might trigger a fear response in your child. For example, you should not tell your child that going to the dentist hurts. While discomfort is real, your child has no frame of reference. They are likely to imagine something far worse.
Check Your Reactions
If the parents have dental anxiety, the child is much more likely to have dental anxiety. Research suggests that this link is entirely based on how the parents talk about and react to the dentist.
By keeping calm and managing your own anxieties, you give your child their best chance of developing a healthy relationship with their oral health. If you tend to be more anxious and worry that you can’t control it, then you may consider having your partner or another family member take your child to appointments.
Trusting Your Dentist
West First Dental is your go-to for pediatric and cosmetic dentistry in Cedar Falls. If your child is struggling with dental anxiety or fear, reach out. Together, you can find solutions to help your child build a healthy, lasting relationship with their oral health.