Dealing with Your Child’s Dental Fears – Why Is It Important?
Is your child anxious about their next dental visit? We’re with you and know just how stressful it can be. When it comes to children’s dentistry, we often see kids coming in for a check-up with severe dental problems that could be prevented with frequent dental visits. So, if your child is among those with a dental fear that keeps them from visiting a dental clinic, here’s everything you need to know when dealing with their dental anxiety.
Dental anxiety can cause an aversion to regular dental checks
Dental anxiety is no concept. Children and adults alike fear visiting the dentist due to the growing anxiety at the thought of an upcoming dental check. For many, this could be the result of negative experiences with the dentist growing up. This makes it crucial that parents and caregivers introduce children to dentists at a young age. In fact, dentists recommend taking children for their first check-up by the age of 1 or within 6 months of their first tooth appearing.
Fear of dentists will keep children from focusing on oral hygiene
Often, the fear of something keeps us disinterested in doing things related to it. Maintaining our oral health is one such thing. When children fear dentists and everything to do with them, they are likely to shy away from brushing regularly or from actively participating in keeping their oral health in check. Alleviating this fear early on can make a significant difference in changing their perception of dental health professionals.
Lack of regular dental visits will lead to severe oral health problems
Dental phobia among children can make regular visits to the dental clinic a pain. Something as simple as a check-up can become difficult without cooperation from children, making diagnosis and oral disease prevention a herculean task. With a constant lack of regular dental checks, the possibility of severe teeth and gum diseases rises significantly.
Addressing dental fears among children
While we‘ve looked into the reasons why addressing your child’s dental phobia is crucial, here are a few tips to help you ease their fears and make them more comfortable with a dental check-up over time.
Introduce children to dentists early on
Making your child’s first dental appointment once they turn a year old will eliminate any chances of them developing a fear of dentists and dental equipment.
Play dentist with children to make them familiar with dental equipment
Before your child’s dental appointment, make sure to play dentist with them by introducing them to toys resembling dental equipment and enacting a dental check-up to make them feel safe about the procedure. This will associate a dental visit with a fun activity for your child and make them more comfortable around the dentist.
Have a regular family dentist to increase familiarity with the dental clinic
Visiting the same dentist every few months will familiarise your child with the dental team. By making your child tag along on your dental visits, you will further increase their exposure to the dental team and the clinic. A family dentist who also specializes in children’s dentistry is sure to make your task of allaying your child’s dental fears easier.
While you’re making sure to address your child’s fear of the dentist with a healthy approach, be sure to reinforce the importance of oral care habits to make their dental visits end in smiles all around!