Dental anxiety and fear. These are natural feelings for every child visiting the dentist for the very first time. It is not uncommon, and neither is it unusual. However, getting your child to visit the dentist is important to keep their growing mouths healthy. You want to make sure that your child happily and calmly climbs upon on the dental chair for their check-up.
Luckily, there are many helpful tips to cure feelings of fear and anxiety. Following these tips will ensure that not only will your child’s first appointment go smoothly, but they will enjoy visiting the dentist every time they go. Here, we suggest three tips before the appointment, and tips during the appointment to ensure your child’s first appointment is a happy and fun experience.
Three Tips Before the Appointment
- Tell Your Child of Their Appointment Early – You should tell your child at least two weeks in advance before your appointment. Children need extra time to adjust to unusual situations. Your child may initially feel scared and throw a tantrum. As time goes they will soon accept it. This will ease their own anxiety as the appointment draws closer.
- Educate Your Child on The Dentist Is Important – Once you’ve told your child in advance about their appointment, it is the parent’s duty to make sure they are educated on the benefits of visiting the dentist. Use a basic tone of voice and language to help them understand. Do not over express yourself as the parent, but simply talk about why keeping teeth healthy is important for their health as they grow up.
- Inform Your Dentist of Your Child’s Fear Beforehand – The dentist will also need to prepare for your child’s appointment. Not only do they need to prepare for the check-up and examination, but they also need to follow methods to make sure your child is at ease.
Three Tips During the Appointment
- Follow Dentist’s Instructions – Ask your dentist for advice and follow their instructions. The experience they have handling children at the appointment should not be forgotten. They are trained to deal with a variety of children. Therefore, ask the dentist what you can do to put your child at ease. Keep them occupied with their favourite toy or activity. It usually works every time.
- Stay Calm During the Appointment – If you as the parent express anxious feelings, your child will too. If you’re calm, your child will be calm. It’s simple. Speak gently to your child during the appointment and give them compliments so that they remain calm and happy.
- Offer Them A Treat – Applaud your child for their bravery. If you offer them a treat for their behaviour this tends to have a positive effect on your child. No matter what the treat is, it is the idea that will make them happy.
If you still need further assistance and support on how to educate your child, here’s some helpful information that will help you.
The Results…
Helping your child overcome their fear of the dentist is difficult at first. However, these helpful tips will make sure your child is getting the best service from the dentist, leading to happy and healthy smiles. At some stage, your child will understand the importance of visiting the dentist. This is the ultimate role of the parent. Maintain a positive picture of the dentist to your child and look forward to your child’s beaming smile.
Have the above tips helped? Do you need further assistance? Contact us at Parkdale Family Dental now and let us further support you with more helpful tips!