The million-dollar question. Tricky… very tricky. This question comes with a whole heap of other contributing factors and like in all things every child is different and so every child will take umbrage at the idea of the dentist for a different reason. That’s if they do – there are children out there that don’t actually mind the dentist… It’s true.
Children develop difficult relationships with the dentist Meath for many different reasons but just as we can as adults still hold onto tricky feelings surrounding the dental chair it’s likely come from a trigger earlier in childhood. Now, when I say trigger it doesn’t mean a big scary instant it can be simply the dialogue they have been used to when the dentist has been mentioned previously. Cast your mind back, have you or their other guardian ever said ‘oh no I’ve got to go to the dentist’ or ‘eurgh my teeth hurt, I really don’t like the dentist’ in front of your child? Guilty? Yep, you aren’t alone we all say things and don’t think about how influential our words are to our children but it’s actually a serious topic that needs addressing.
This brings me to my first point…
Watch Your Language
Don’t worry, I’m not telling you off. Just be super cautious about the words you’re using when talking about the dentist, positive reinforcement can be super helpful in making the dentist a less stressful time for you and your children. Try language like ‘I can’t wait for my teeth to feel extra clean and healthy’ or ‘I’m really looking forward to knowing how healthy my teeth are’. I know it’s corny but long term you could be doing yourself and your children a big favour.
Start Them Young
Starting off your children at the dentist as soon as they start to teeth will normalise the dentist for them and help them to understand that actually it’s not so bad and if they take care of their smiles it can actually be a cool experience.
Understandably we don’t all have the privilege of getting our children to the dentist young and sometimes they’ve already decided on how they feel about the experience before we have a chance to intervene. In these cases it’s best not to turn to bribery in order to get them there as through this tactic you’re enforcing that the dentist is something bad that should be rewarded with something good. Depending on how old they are try to ask them about their worries, and talk through what’s worrying them. You can even try to give them some control and get them to book the appointment – something small but by giving them the responsibility to look after this, you’re saying that they’re old enough and strong enough to handle it.
If your children are smaller than you can always try some at home dental role play. Ask your children to give your teeth and check up and then you can do theirs. This little tool gets them used to the idea of having their teeth looked at without being too intimidating.