Dr. Harmeet Dhaliwal’s Dental Tips for Parents Tip #1
Kids Don’t Have to Be Scared
It may come as a surprise, but humans aren’t born being afraid of the dentist. While dental work can be an uncomfortable experience at times given the sensitive area of the body the treatment takes place, there are things we can do to try to avoid a negative association of it for your kids. To help prevent your child from developing a dental phobia, try not to transmit your potential worries onto your child. I find that children are often fine in the dental chair until concerned parents repeatedly ask, Are you OK? Is that hurting? or hover over them with a distressed expression on their face. Of course parents are concerned for their child’s comfort, but even very young kids are experts at picking up cues from their parents and this will scare them. Modern dentistry has come a very long way and while we can’t always avoid negative sensations, we work really hard to help create positive dental experiences to the best of our abilities during childhood.
When discussing anything about dentistry, try to avoid talking about needles, drills, pain or other negative descriptors. Instead, opt to focus on positives such as strong and healthy teeth, taking care of themselves, and prizes. Parents can even try ‘playing dentist’ at home by getting kids to lay back on the couch, having them open wide and counting their teeth. If your kids are handling that well and you feel up to it, maybe even try using an electric toothbrush to try to clean a bit to mimic the sensation. When the day comes to visit, one of the most satisfying aspects of our jobs is seeing the sense of accomplishment on our young patients’ faces as they march out to the waiting room to Mom or Dad and say, I was such a good helper today that I get to pick a prize! Overall, beyond the basics of the process -being set back in the chair, needing to open their mouth for a while- let them know that they will see what the dentist’s office is about for themselves once they get there and let us handle the rest.