Calming your child's fear of the dentist

Not long ago, I decided to address what appeared to me to be the two most common reasons that people stay away from the dentist's office, things I saw or heard multiple times a day from almost every patient. While I don't plan on rehashing the same subject I do want to discuss dental fear again, albeit by a different audience -- children.

By the time a child has their first birthday or their first tooth has erupted, they should be seen by a dentist. As I wrote in my previous article regarding children's dental care, the first few visits at that young age are not about performing any dental procedures. Rather, they are intended to let the dentist verify that the baby's mouth and dental structures are forming correctly. They are also meant to help the child get adjusted to someone looking in and around their mouth as well as to the office in general. In this manner, with regular six month appointments the child can learn to not fear the dentist and to adopt good oral care habits early in life. On the other hand, what if a child suddenly complains of tooth pain at the age of five or six and has never been in the dental office before?

This new environment -- new people, new sounds, new smells, and lots of new tools -- can become quickly overwhelming to a child with no prior dental experience. Someone is sticking an x-ray film in their mouth, someone else is asking them a lot of questions, and the dentist is poking and prodding around looking for what hurts. On top of that, other children who have had some dental experience in the past may try to frighten the child before their appointment. Siblings especially like to tease and scare each other, claiming that the dentist will pull all of their teeth or use a needle as big as a straw. Friends from school or older kids on the bus or playground may intimidate them with horror tales from the dental office, and even some parents find it absolutely hilarious to scare the pants off their kids before their appointments. All of this mis- and disinformation is detrimental both to the child and to the dental office staff for several reasons.

First of all, being scared isn't fun. I know I certainly don't enjoy it (which is why I stay out of haunted houses!). And once they are scared, unless the appointment goes absolutely without a hitch, they tend to remain scared. A frightened child makes the dental work much more difficult, as they may shy away or cry, or even refuse treatment all together. They may interpret sounds, smells and sensations of pressure or vibration as pain, and as such can jerk their heads or try to grab the dentist's hands. With either the dental handpiece or the syringe in their mouths, these reactions can be very dangerous to both the child, the dentist and even the assistant. In the event that the child is too afraid of treatment, whether they are crying, fighting or trying to leave the chair, the dentist will likely not continue attempting to perform any procedure and will either refer the patient to another dentist or to the pediatric dentist (at a greater expense for treatment!).

So what can you do to help your child have successful dental visits? First of all, as I mentioned before it is good to take your child to the dentist early in life so they can get used to being there. Also, try to give them an idea of what will be happening - x-rays, brushing their teeth, looking at them with a mirror. Try to dispel scary stories they may have heard elsewhere, and keep their siblings from tormenting them if possible. Finally, keep up with your child's oral health and homecare habits. Good habits formed early in life lead to less time spent with a big, scary drill in their mouth.

Mack A. Taylor, DDS