Five Steps to Help Prevent Future Dentist Avoidance
Dentist avoidance is rooted in a child’s first dental experiences. While you might think that these early visits are inconsequential (outside of the normal struggle to get your child to the appointment), actually a bad visit can set your child up to neglect oral health in their adult years. This could cost them much more than a bright smile.
Childrens Dentistry
Dental avoidance affects more than just the mouth. Recent medical research points to the major effect your oral health has on overall health. Cardiac issues, especially, can be worsened or even caused by poor dental health. Making those early trips to the dentist as stress and fear free as possible can provide the foundation your kids need for better adult oral health and hearth health.
There are five steps that parents can follow to make early dental visits less stressful for their children, and help to minimize dentist avoidance later in life.
Before the visit
Step 1: Select a children’s dental practice.
Choosing a dental practice specializing in children is a good first step.
The office in a pediatric dental practice is automatically optimized for instrument and chair size. The staff is also skilled and experienced in dealing with restless and anxious children, and generally is happy dealing with children.
Tantrums and running around that would disrupt a normal office – or add to the tension and fear in a regular practice environment – are business as usual in a practice that specializes in treating children.
Any parent who has tried to soothe a child in an office situation knows the importance of a kid-friendly location.
An office that is accepting of kids’ normal behavior contributes hugely to create an overall positive emotional experience. As a matter of fact, over 50% of the stress and conflict felt by young children in a dentist’s office usually comes from parents forced to try to make a naturally energetic child conform to adult standards. Often, by the time the child actually gets into the chair, they’ve already cycled through restlessness, anger, frustration, or shame — making the experience painful before the check up even begins.
Step 2: Prepare your child several days in advance.
Preparing younger children can be challenging. One good way to help younger children prepare for the dentist is by telling a story about dental visits days in advance. For example, tell your toddler a story in which a hero with your child’s name goes on an adventure to the dentist’s office.
‘There your child can encounter a forest of chairs (or other waiting room surroundings), which must be searched for his/her smile. Your child meets a special guide, who takes them to a magician in a fortress with a special throne for heroes, or a special lodge where a medicine person wraps the hero like a pappoose to keep them safe.
The smile, of course, is in the mouth, and so the magician must search the hero’s mouth for it. The hero of the story will be very brave throughout the search, even if it is long or if the magician uses strange tools or odd-smelling potions to search for the smile.
At the end, the magician finds the hero’s beautiful smile and encourages the hero to hang on to the smile by remembering to brush every day and after eating sweets, and to come back for help finding their smile any time. ‘
Repeating this story various times throughout the week prior to the visit will likely stick and be useful when the appointment day rolls around. Since toddlers are unlikely to grasp non-story explanations, this works well to provide a framework to use in processing the new and not entirely comfortable experience in a positive way.
Any story concocted that encompasses the various new and different things your child will experience will be beneficial in preparing your very young child for his or her first visit.
If your child is older and already has been to the dentist, they will benefit from and appreciate honesty and a heads-up about the upcoming appointment.
Tell them what a checkup involves, and explain that if they have cavities their mouths may be open longer. Remind them that the dentist is there to help them. Point out that it will be worth their patience when they smile at school and people don’t tease them for ugly teeth. Be sure to use positive adjectives and words when you describe the checkup.
If there have been bad experiences in the past, you may want to speak with your new pediatric dentist. Ask your dentist about arranging a hand signal for your older child or teen to use if they feel distress or need the dentist to stop and adjust something.
Go over using the signal several times with your child in the week before the appointment. Please note that this is a solution best left for older children who can tell the difference between feeling something wrong and feeling fretful about the length of time their mouth is open.
At the Office
Step 3: Be patient but firm with your kids in the waiting room.
If they are restless, give younger children a toy or get them otherwise engaged. Send them to look for their smile under the chairs, suggest another game, or read a story to them rather than get angry or anxious at them.
Step 4: Allow your child to bring something from home when they go for their visit.
Every kid has a certain item that means “safety” or “home” to them, whether it is a toy, blanket, or cup. Let them bring that familiar, safe item to the unfamiliar territory of the dental visit. An older child could bring a favorite book or game to soothe them.
Step 5: Lastly, understand that even with all your care, they might still be mad or scared when the dentist is working.
Put on your “parent ears” to recognize and distinguish “mad crying” from “pain crying” when the dentist begins. You are a conscientious parent making sure that your child’s oral health is taken care of, and you know the difference. Do not allow your own dentist memories blind you to the source of your own child’s cries.
With modern techniques and treatments, there is not really any need for dental avoidance. Dentistry today is far more painless than it was in previous decades. It is time to abandon that legacy of dental treatment fear.
A little smart planning with some targeted preparation can instead give your children a new legacy – The avoidance of dental neglect caused health problems.
Karen Chu DMD is a compassionate and dedicated Phoenix Dentist who focuses on children’s dentistry. Her Phoenix, AZ area practice provides skilled care from 1st tooth to age 20 and is accessible by all income groups. Dr Chu believes EVERY child deserves a healthy smile.
Dr Karen Chu DMD
5115 West Thomas Road
Phoenix, AZ 85031-3944
(602) 233-3133
http://smallsmiles.com/
