5 Ways to Help Your Child Feel Relaxed at the Dentist

Does your child experience anxiety or misbehave at the dentist’s office? If so, the following tips can help!

Though many children react positively to dentists and other medical providers, some have issues with going to appointments. The most common results are anxiety, rebellion, and generally misbehaving. This behavior can be incredibly frustrating for parents. Fortunately, you can use various methods to manage your children’s behavior before and during dental appointments.

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We had a very positive experience with Dental Anesthesia Center. Dr. Thoms and his entire staff were kind, patient, and understanding throughout the entire process. My child has special needs, and as an anxious mom, I truly appreciated how compassionate and reassuring everyone was. We were referred to Dr. Thoms by our child’s dentist, and they took the time to explain everything while genuinely wanting to do what was best for my son. Communication was excellent throughout the procedure, which helped ease a lot of my anxiety. The office staff, including the ladies who handled the payment process, were just as kind and helpful, and I never felt pressured when discussing treatment or costs. The cost was more than we anticipated and definitely an unexpected expense, but my child’s needs always come first. Most importantly, my son seemed very comfortable afterward, did not appear to be in pain, and was eating an hour after the procedure. I don’t give perfect scores lightly, but I would absolutely recommend Dr. Thoms and his team to other families, especially parents of children with special needs.

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Realistic Expectations

The first method you can use is before you arrive at the dental office. It is creating realistic expectations for your children. This strategy reduces fear through education. The first way you can do so is through simple explanations about what a facility looks like and what might happen during an appointment. The second method is reading through a children’s book that tackles this issue for you.  

Modeling

Children tend to model their behavior on the people around them. You can use this effect to help them with dental fears. The best way to do so is to bring them to an appointment for you or one of their siblings. This experience should show them how a person is supposed to handle medical treatment.

Distractions

Now, let’s move on to management tips you can use at the appointment rather than before. One of them is providing distractions; the best way is through the dentist’s entertainment system. It allows you to focus your children’s attention on a television show or movie rather than the treatment they are getting. Not only are distractions helpful, but watching entertaining content might help you build a positive association between your child and the dentist.

Incentives

One of the most potent persuasion strategies you can use is offering incentives. To do so, think of one of the things your children love to do most. Whether that is a trip to the movies, the park, or a favorite restaurant, you can use that activity as a bargaining chip to help your children behave. Sharing the experience can be a wonderful bonding moment for you and them.

Positive Reinforcement

Lastly, a bit of positive reinforcement goes a long way regarding behavioral management. Telling your children that they are brave and giving other words of encouragement should make them behave at the dentist. As an added benefit, this method should become more and more effective as time passes because reinforcement tends to compound when used over long periods.

If you’re lucky, none of your children will have issues going to the dentist. What might happen, though, is that one or more of them misbehave or feel anxious when doing so. Your best bet at solving this problem is utilizing the tried and true behavioral management techniques on this list. One last factor you can’t discount is the quality and friendliness of your pediatric dentist. If you think it might be time to find a new pediatric dentist, find someone who puts your children at ease.