Easing Your Child's Dental Anxiety
As you ready your kids for the new school year, you’re supplying them with everything they need for success. You might be getting them smart devices like tablets and laptops; fun new face masks to help protect themselves and others — and you may even be designing an at-home curriculum for some hands-on learning experience.
However you’re preparing your children, one thing that may have been pushed to the back-burner is scheduling them in for their routine dental checkup.
The importance of routine dental maintenance in children
An essential part of prepping your kids for success is taking care of all aspects of their health, including their oral health. Not only does good oral health protect your little one against illness and disease, but a bright white smile also builds confidence, throughout their childhood and beyond.
However, if your child suffers from dental anxiety, trips to the dentist can feel overwhelming, and they may want to forego those bi-annual trips. And, with all the turmoil this past year has brought, the last thing you want to put your child through is more stress.
To help ease your child’s fear of the dentist, we’ve compiled a few tips to make their trip a little more palatable — even FUN!
How to ease dental anxiety in children
Make the trip FUN: If your schedule allows, plan more than a trip to the dentist. Make it a day full of fun, perhaps a walk around the park, a trip to the local zoo, and end it off with a special ‘treat’ such as a new toy, stuffed animal, or healthy, tasty snack.
Practice breathing exercises: If your child is old enough, get them to mimic slow-breathing with you. When they start to feel nervous, tell them to count to five as they breathe in, and count to five as they breathe out. This slow-breathing will help to physically calm their nerves.
Have a ‘safe’ signal: Create safe signals your child can mime to the dentist (or to you if you’re in the room) that will let them know they need a break, if they’re feeling discomfort, or pain. If your child knows they’re able to communicate their feelings freely, they will feel safer in the dentist chair.
Turn on their favourite show: Distraction works wonders in the dentist’s chair! Ask your child’s dental hygienist to turn on their favourite cartoon, or, if you’ve brought headphones, put on some of your child’s favourite music to tune out any ‘scary’ noises.
Ask your dentist to walk your child through their visit: Sometimes your child needs to feel like they trust the person working on their teeth. With a friendly explanation from the dentist of what will happen during the visit, your child will likely feel better.
Give them a stress ball: Sometimes a little squeeze can go a long way. If your child can squeeze that stress ball when they’re feeling uncomfortable, they can have an outlet to express themselves. This can help distract them and diffuse some of their stress.
Healthy teeth and gums with a happier, carefree heart
By helping your children deal with their dental anxieties now, you’re equipping them not only for a future of relaxed dental visits, but with methods to deal with stress across their lives, from scholastic to relational. That gives your child double the reason to smile!