 The Anxious Child
Many of the children we see came to us because they were very anxious or afraid. If your child is very apprehensive about going to the dentist, rest assured, that is one reason we are here. We do our best to make their first experience with us as easy as possible.
There are many things you, as a parent can do to help the anxious child cope with their dental visits. If it is your child's first visit with us, reassure them that all we are going to do is “look at their teeth”, nothing else. Once that promise has been made to a child, we don't break it. If they have older siblings who have dental experiences or “information to share” please be as careful as possible not to let the older siblings “educate” the younger child about their experiences, unless their experiences have been very good. Please see our “Your child's first visit” page to know what to expect.
If your apprehensive child is being seen for treatment, that means that we have spent some time together developing a plan for your child. Please be careful not to use any words with your child that may invoke fear (You know what those words are!). We have special “child friendly” terminology that we use to describe to the child what we are going to do. We do not want them worrying about it. Talk to your child in fun terms. We try to be honest with children about what they are going to experience, but the way the information is shared with them can make a world of difference in their acceptance.
If your child asks questions directly, give a response, but still avoid the “fearful words”.
Example: if they ask if they are going to get a ---- (you know the word), you should answer: Dr. ----- has to clean some cavity bugs out of your tooth and will have your tooth go to sleep so you don't feel it when he cleans out the bugs. He'll talk to you about how he makes the tooth sleepy. Then change the subject. Don't say “yes, but it won't hurt” or “no, there aren't going to be any -----“ or anything else that might not turn out to be entirely truthful later. The important message here is: Be honest, but don't give direct responses that will increase the fear that your child already has.
As part of the treatment approach for your anxious child, we may recommend an antianxiety medication or the use of Nitrous Oxide/Oxygen (laughing gas) to help your child cope with their treatment. The antianxiety medications that we use are very safe with children and are dosed according to the weight of your child to ensure safety. Nitrous Oxide/Oxygen is a very safe technique for most kids. When used properly by the child, it can help them relax and gives a pleasant overall numb feeling that helps them not react to other potential uncomfortable things.
We do not provide deeper sedation in our office. If a child requires something more than antianxiety medications for necessary dental treatment, then we provide the dentistry with the child asleep in a hospital setting. An outpatient hospital setting is the safest place for a child to receive these types of services when they are necessary.
Our goal for your anxious or apprehensive child is to help treat their current dental concern as stress-free as possible and to assist them in achieving and maintaining good oral health without creating further trauma. We want them to grow into an adult with a healthy smile, who is not fearful of going to the dentist.
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