How To Help Your Kids Feel Confident About Visiting The Dentist
No one wants their children to have poorly maintained teeth, but despite all the work you do as a parent to ensure this doesn’t happen, the one person you really need to have help you is the dentist. For a lot of children, a visit to the dentist isn’t an issue; it might not be enjoyable, but it’s nothing to worry about. Others, however, have a big fear of dentists that make parents wary of even attempting to take them for a check-up. Of course, this leads to poorly maintained teeth and health issues in later life.
If your child has a problem with the dentist, there are some things you can do to give them more confidence and show them there is nothing to be afraid of. Read on to find out what some of them are.
Show Them You’re Not Afraid
One of the best things you can do when it comes to helping your children overcome their fear of the dentist is to let them see you sitting in the dentist’s chair and that you are unafraid during your check-up.
Book an appointment just for you at the dentist and assure your child they aren’t in line to be seen, but have them in the room when your teeth are being looked over. They will quickly see that there is nothing to worry about, and they will usually be much more receptive to their own appointment when it comes.
Find A Child’s Dentist
Finding a dentist that specialises in children or seeing families is the ideal way to help your kids overcome their fear of the dentist. Somewhere like Wahroonga Family Dental Centre that helps families and therefore people of all ages would be ideal. When you pick a dentist like this, you can be sure that there will be people working there who know how to handle kids, including those who might be afraid of what will happen.
If possible, see if you can take a tour of the dentist’s premises before the appointment. A good family dentist should be able to accommodate this request and help your children feel a lot more comfortable and confident.
Don’t Surprise Them
One of the worst things you can do when you are trying to get your child to go to the dentist but they are afraid of doing so is to make them an appointment and surprise them. Although you might think you’re doing the right thing by not giving them anything to be anxious about in the run-up to the appointment, this approach could easily cause them to stop trusting you and to become even more afraid – after all, if you have to hide the fact that you’re going to the dentist, surely it has to be something scary?
Always keep your child informed of any medical appointment they have to attend, and help them get over their fears in other ways.
Conclusion
It can be hard to help a child who is afraid of the dentist, especially if you are worried about the health of their teeth. However, by talking things through and finding out what the underlying cause is, you may be able to help them get past it, and if not, the approaches we have mentioned above should help.
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