Thousands of children
around the world suffer with dental problems. We have seen this problem
escalating in the United Kingdom with almost five hundred children being
hospitalised each week for dental work. A high number of these children need up
to eight of their milk teeth extracted with a minority needing all twenty
removed under general anaesthetic.
This is a serious
concern which is growing and I have found that educating expectant mothers in
my dental practice has helped them understand the importance of good oral
health in their children moving forward. Many expectant mothers are not even
aware how important it is for them to ensure they have enough calcium in their
diet while pregnant and that their baby’s teeth start forming while the baby is
still in the womb.
The First Appointment
I try and make the
first appointment as stress free as possible for the parents. I have found that
when the parents are on edge at that first appointment, the child acts the same
way, which can make the examination exceptionally difficult for both the child
and myself. Over the years I have found that keeping the parents calm,
explaining the process and ensuring they understand what the examination
entails, helps calm their fears, which is passed on to their child.
Make Appointments Fun
While a dental
appointment should be a fun experience, I ensure that all the children that
visit my practice have fun and enjoy the experience. We have plenty of toys and
books for children in the waiting room and I make use of puppets and toys to
calm them throughout the examination and treatment process.
I also ensure the
parents are taken care of, keeping them calm and relaxed, building up a good
relationship with them and their children. I often find after the initial
visit, the children are excited to visit me and walk in quite happily on their
own because they know that they can trust me.
We play some fun
nursery rhymes in the back ground and when they leave I have special oral
health packs make up which include a toothbrush and toothpaste. I sit and
explain to the children the importance of oral health and ensure they know how
I am going to proceed with the examination before I touch them.
I find that I treat
children the same as I treat my anxious patients. Explaining the process in terms
they understand helps put them at ease and ensures the examination goes
according to plan.
Recommend a Pretend Visit
Over the years I have
found that parents who fear the dentist automatically pass that fear onto their
children. While they don’t mean to do it, I will get a child in that has never
visited the dentist and is absolutely petrified. When a parent phones in and
advises us that their child is scared, we recommend a pretend visit.
A pretend visit is we
go through the paces of booking an appointment, making them come in and wait in
the waiting room and come into the surgery, except I don’t do any work. I sit
and chat to the child, explain what I do and let them have a look around. I let
them hear the drill and experience the noises. Once they are comfortable, we
then set up the real appointment for a future date.
Always Be Prepared
Even the most
experienced dentist will come across that one child that just won’t sit in the
chair and be treated. It’s not unusual. The best thing is to be prepared. I
expect it from every child patient I see and have found that turning the
experience into a positive one and not forcing the issue, helps in the long
run. The last thing you want is the mother holding down the child while you
work on them, this is only going to cause a negative memory which will affect
them in the future, which is why I allocate more time to the children
appointments, ensuring the treatment and examination is carried out at their
pace.
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