Taking your child to the dentist has the potential to be a fairly stressful experience if it isn’t planned out correctly. However, if you know how to work your way around some of the hurdles that surround this experience for you and your child, you can save everyone involved a lot of stress. Below we cover the top 7 things to know about kids with dental anxiety.
Top 7 Things to Know About Kids with Dental Anxiety
If you have a trip to the dentist planned for you or your child, take a look at this guide to understanding some of the anxiety surrounding a dental exam for kids.
1. Dental Anxiety Is a Pressing Problem
Dental anxiety is an incredibly common problem that is experienced by children worldwide. This embarrassment can express itself in several different ways. When anxiety reaches high levels, it can cause children to become too unruly to effectively apply care. Denying that the anxiety exists can exacerbate the issue or cause other problems.
2. Delaying Care Leads to Anxiety
Delaying regular cleanings or missing or canceling appointments is almost sure to lead to the development of increased anxiety. This is partially due to the fact that if your child’s dental needs become more pressing due to lack of care, they will require more extensive dental work. This in turn can lead to more anxiety. Attending your regularly scheduled cleanings can help to reduce the chance of this occurring.
3. There Are Many Ways to Effectively Address Dental Anxiety
There are many different methods for helping decrease the anxiety that your child feels in relation to visiting the dentist. One of the most effective ones is to hear them out and let them express their worries. Letting them know that you care and understand their issues can help to decrease the general anxiety that they feel surrounding the experience.
In addition, communicating to your dentist that your child feels anxious can help them understand what they’re getting into. And finally, setting up a system of distractions and rewards can help create incentives for your child to visit the dentist.
4. There are Many Reasons a Child Might Feel Anxious
There are many possible sources for a child’s anxiety regarding a visit to the dentist. Some examples of this include:
- Feelings of helplessness
- Feelings of a lack of control
- Hearing from other children that they don’t like the dentist
- A negative experience at a dental office in the past
- The sensory experience of the dentist’s office
- A painful experience at the dental office in the past
If you can identify the root cause of your own child’s experience, then it will help to better prepare you for the trip you have to take.
5. There are Many Ways to Calm Them Down
There are several methods you can employ to attempt to calm your child prior to their visit to the dentist. One method is to role-play with your child or have them role-play with a stuffed animal or doll. Letting them act out their anxieties can also help your child release some anxiety prior to any work being performed.
You can also set the right example for your child by keeping a positive attitude throughout your visitation. This often serves to calm any anxieties that your child might be experiencing.
6. Picking the Right Dentist Helps
It helps if your dentist knows their way around a child’s anxiety as well. There are many dentists who are considered child specialists, and selecting one of these dentists is almost a surefire way to help you and your child be guided through a trip to the dentist in a way that makes everyone feel safe. These types of dentists are specifically trained to assist your child with coping with the dental process.
7. Sedation is Possible as Well
If your child has out-of-control dental anxiety, then you may find that you have to resort to utilizing some type of sedation in order to bring them under control. Fortunately, there are many non-invasive and painless methods of sedation dentistry you can use for this, such as laughing gas. Methods like these are considered to be completely safe for children as well as adults.
The Dentist of Choice for Hollywood
Victory Plaza Dental is one of the resources Hollywood looks for when they need a North Hollywood dentist. If you’re looking for someone who understands the sensitivities that come along with a child’s trip to the dentist, then contact us and set up an appointment in order to take care of their dental needs.