How to make dental visits easy for your kids?

Fun Dental Visits For Kids

With your help, dental visits can be a positive – even fun – experience for your kids. Our staff will spend time with your kids to help them feel comfortable and understand what they can expect. As parents, you can help us make their next visit a successful one by working with us to accomplish this goal!

Have you ever wondered endlessly how to make dental visits with your kids bearable? Did you ever hope to make it fun too? The truth is that this is not impossible. Dental visits can be a fun and educational experience for your kids.

The dental staff are trained to make your children comfortable. They understand what you are going through and are ready to meet your expectations. However, the success of your kid’s dental visits still lies in your hands. You will need to work closely with the staff and the doctor and aim to make your kid’s dental visits a success.

Where to start? Here are some tips that you can follow.

Be positive

This means that you have to make your kid feel that going to the dentist is a good thing. As much as possible, don’t answer questions you are not sure of the answer. Use positive words like fun, easy, play, prizes, when you do talk to your kid and answer any of their questions. Be consistently fun, soft spoken and playful. Also try to educate your child on the importance of proper oral hygiene and how we can help them have healthy teeth and gums by giving them the dental care they need.

Never say words indicating pain

In relation to being positive, you need to avoid at all cost, words that will indicate to your child that they may experience any pain or discomfort. You don’t want to make them scared before their dental visit. Don’t use words such as pain, needle, shot or hurt. You don’t want your kids to be anxious about the visit.

Be extravagant with your praise

After the visit, praise your child. Highlight the positive points of the visit and the fun you have together.

Never ask questions that negate the experience

Questions such as “Are you okay?” or “Did it hurt?” or “Were you scared?” as these can only mean that the experience was something hurtful and your child will see it as something to be scared about. This will make dental visits in the future scary for your child.

You have to feel at ease with the visits too. You really don’t know how your child thinks about anesthesia. They may think that numb tongue or lip is a good thing and that it may be fun. But if you see that they are uncomfortable about it, then reassure them that it’s just sleeping right now and it will wake up soon and the feeling will go away.

One very important thing is to give positive feedback with your own experience to the dentist. Never say anything negative in front of your child about going to the dentist. For example, never say “I hate going to the dentist” or “It hurt” …

Here are some ways you can describe dental words to your child:

Instead of a cavity or decay , say “bug in your tooth” or “a sick tooth”

Instead of injection or shot, say “Sleepy juice for your tooth”

Instead of drilling, say “clean the sugar bugs out of your tooth”

Instead of filling, say “will put a silver star in your tooth” if the filling is amalgam. If it’s a white filling, say “white star”

If you need help with any of this or have any questions, please feel free to ask one of our knowledgeable and friendly staff at 323-771-7254.

By Ladan Zinati