How to prepare a child for a visit to the dentist

— A dentist should be sought for a child when his first teeth appear (at the age of 6-10 months). The doctor assesses how the eruption is progressing and gives recommendations for oral care and the next preventive visit – if everything is fine, it takes place once every three months.

A child who regularly comes for preventive visits from an early age already knows the doctor, his office and the tools that surround him, and reacts calmly and positively to the dentist’s request when he has to perform manipulations. In addition, such children usually have rare acute cases, because problems are diagnosed and treated in advance.

It is much more difficult when a child comes to the dentist for the first time in an acute condition. Parents start looking for a doctor already when there are problems, they are nervous and cannot help but convey their anxiety to the baby, who is already in pain. Of course, this is not about preparing the child and explaining what will happen to him at the doctor — at best, the parents will say that it won’t hurt, although they don’t know this for sure. In this way, there are difficulties in communicating with the child, he may refuse to open his mouth and will not allow manipulation.

If the child visits the dentist for the first time at the conscious age of 4-5 years and everything is fine, it is enough to explain to him in advance that he will have to open his mouth so that the doctor can examine and possibly clean his teeth. You can tell why oral hygiene is needed, or show a cartoon. It is important never to show that you are afraid of dentists or to share negative impressions about the treatment, because the baby adjusts himself the way his parents do.

A child at a conscious age (about 7 years old) can already be gradually adapted to treatment without anesthesia. Patience and support of parents is very important in this process.

Of course, there are children who, on the first visit, confidently sit in the chair and agree to begin treatment, but more often the child is not ready for this right away – he is afraid, upset and does not understand why he was brought and what to expect.

– For such a case, there is a table with toys in the office, and the child approaches with interest to look at them. Then I start a conversation and an initial examination during the game, – says children’s dentist, dental therapist Alyona Horova. – Depending on the patient’s ability to communicate, I ask if he wants to sit in a chair and watch a cartoon – if he agrees, then I examine his teeth already in the chair. If not, at the first meeting, I just show the child the office, tools, brushes, give him the opportunity to do something on a special dental model and tell him what exactly we will do next time. In this way, the child will calm down and understand what is expected of him, and the parents will know what to say when preparing for the next visit. The haste of parents when visiting the dentist only harms: the child becomes nervous, scared, and we lose the opportunity to build contact with him. A young patient needs 1-2 visits to get used to a new place and people, then we can start his treatment without stress and without anesthesia.

In the treatment process, it is important to give the child the feeling that he is in charge of the process: it is your tooth, you tell the dentist when to pause and when to continue. So the visit goes more smoothly.

Should you tell the child that it won’t hurt?

It is better not to use the word “pain” at all. Everyone has a different pain threshold, moreover, a child may confuse some unfamiliar sensations with pain, for example, numbness from local anesthesia. That is why I say “unpleasant” or “sensitive”. In general, during the treatment process, I try to convey to the child the feeling that he is in control of the process: I ask him which brush is more convenient for him to brush, and I ask him to warn me when to stop so that he is comfortable.

Does the presence of relatives in the doctor’s office matter?

One of the parents should be present so that the child is calmer. As for the rest of the family, it all depends on their behavior. There are situations when the presence of the family helps: if they behave calmly and do not interfere in the process, we give everyone chairs and let them watch. But if relatives discuss something loudly, comment, make the child nervous, I put them out the door.

How do you get to know the medical staff? After all, too many people in the office can scare a child…

If you separate the consultation from the treatment under anesthesia, then in the office there are only the dentist and the assistant, who get to know the child and talk to him. When anesthesia is needed, the anesthesiologist comes in later, so there are no more than three doctors present in the dental office.

Well, the health and peace of the child is, of course, priceless, but still, how much will those two visits cost, when we are not yet being treated, but just getting to know each other?

It will cost the same as two initial consultations with a dentist, the price can be found on our website. Perhaps, if the child is in contact and prepared, we will start treatment right away. But you should not show impatience, because the child needs time to get used to a new place and stop being afraid, and the most important thing is to avoid the appearance of fear of dental treatment.