Fear of the dentist is common for adults, and children can also learn to be afraid of going to the dentist if they have poor dental experiences as a child or if parents show their own discomfort to their children. One of the simplest ways to help your child avoid developing a fear of dental care is to use a pediatric dental office for all tooth care. Pediatric dentistry is especially designed to help children feel safe and excited about going to the dentist. Here's how.
The Right Size
Everything in a pediatric dentist office will be just the right size for children. The exam chairs are smaller. The tools are the right size for a small mouth. Even the chairs in the waiting room might be the right size for kids. You'll also find plenty of toys and games for waiting patients, which is something you might not see in a traditional dentist office.
Gentle Treatment Methods
One of the reasons why people fear the dentist is because people fear pain. They worry that even a cleaning will cause discomfort. Children might not like a stranger working inside their mouth because this is a vulnerable and sensitive area. Because the mouth is sensitive to pain, pediatric dental methods are as gentle as possible, making it easier for kids to sit through an exam, cleaning, or even a cavity filling.
For example, you might be familiar with the dentist using a drill to clear away the decayed portion of a tooth for a filling. Pediatric dentists might use lasers to clear away the tooth. The laser is silent, so there are no scary sounds. Laser treatments are often painless, which also means no needles and no strange numbness after a filling. Adults can struggle with the numb feeling of anesthesia, but to children, that feeling can be disturbing.
The Right Method
Finally, pediatric dentists are specifically trained to work with children. They know the challenges that children face at the dentist, so they are often quick, decisive, and can work with wiggles and tears. They are also highly trained to diagnose and treat dental issues that children face, including teeth that get chipped or knocked because of childhood play, dental abscesses from tooth injury, and decay from bottles and fruit snacks.
Pediatric dental specialists can also help give mouth guards for childhood sports, provide solutions for grinding teeth at night, and assess whether or not your child has any chronic dental problems, such as weak enamel, that makes tooth care more challenging. Because of their training, children can feel more confident just because these dentists know how to act in order to put a child at ease.
Share26 September 2018
The average dentist takes many client appointments each day and also deals with emergency situations on a regular basis. Dental emergencies are very common because people are likely to put off having tooth pain fixed until the pain becomes unbearable. Some people have anxiety about dental visits, and others are trying to avoid the expense of dental care. In either case, the end result is often a dental emergency. I have worked as a professional dental hygienist for many years and have seen all types of dental emergencies. I hope that this blog will help people identify potential emergencies before they become too serious and will allow people to know when to get help.
