Taking The Fear Out Of Dental Visits For Kids

Very few, if any people actually enjoy going to the dentist, but some kids actually hate it. How can you make the trip to the dentist more comfortable for your fearful little one? Here, you'll find a few tips that will help.

Talk it Out

The first thing to do is to sit down and have a nice conversation with your kid. Your goal with this conversation is to try to find out what it is that makes him or her so uncomfortable at the dentist's office. It can be difficult to pull a difficult truth out of a little one when it comes to something like this, so you may need to sweeten up the conversation with some ice cream or your little one's favorite treat. Once he or she is comfortable with the discussion, maybe he or she will be more open about what's going on.

If you find out what's causing your kid to be fearful of the dentist, you can begin making changes to improve the situation.

Cancel the Sounds

The sounds in a dental office can be very scary for a kid. Fortunately, that's an easy element to remove from the setting. A pair of noise-cancelling headphones and some good music or movie will take make it impossible for any sounds to be heard.

The headphones can be put in before you even walk into the dentist's office so that none of those sounds are heard even once. They can be worn during the exam and until you are safe back in the car after it's all over.

Include a Friend

Sometimes, bringing your little one's best friend along to the appointment can help. That extra sense of security and knowing that their friend is watching could help to improve how well they do at the dentist. You might be amazed at how much more grown up your child will act in a dentist's office if they have a friend there with them.

Talk things out with the dentist. Make sure that the dental staff knows how your child feels about these visits. If they aren't aware of your child's discomfort, they can't do anything to make him or her feel more comfortable. A simple explanation of what your child feels during the appointments can go a long way in making things a more positive experience and allow the dentist to get all of the work done without further trauma.

Share