The hardest thing about getting treatment at the dentist, especially for young children, is managing fear and anxiety. Usually, this has to do with fear of the unknown.
No matter what your experience has been in your dental history, it is important to stay calm and positive when it comes to answering your child’s questions regarding his or her treatment. Children feed off their parents’ emotions, so you set the tone before we even get a chance to begin treatment with your child.
Here at Dental Land Pediatrics, we practice proven methods that make for a positive treatment experience.
Key things to remember
- Parent involvement: Although some children do better without parents present during treatment, we are open to having you stay with your child. If you choose to be present, we ask that you follow these guidelines:
- Only one person may accompany the child to the treatment room. Too many people/distractions make it difficult for your son or daughter to focus or hear our guidance.
- Please be a silent observer. This will allow us to maintain communication with your little one. Children will normally listen to parents instead of us.
- Kid-friendly vocabulary: In order to improve the chances of your youngster having a positive experience, we are selective with our use of words. Please support us by NOT USING negative words.
- Examples of NEGATIVE WORDS are shot, needle, hurt, pain, scary, drill, etc.
- These words dramatically decrease our chance of a successful appointment.
- Use of nitrous oxide/laughing gas: In our office, we offer nitrous oxide. Nitrous oxide is given through a small breathing mask which is placed over your child’s nose, allowing her or him to relax, but without putting the patient to sleep. Your youngster remains fully conscious and keeps all natural reflexes. Please inform our staff about any respiratory condition that makes breathing through the nose difficult for your child, because it may limit the effectiveness of nitrous oxide. Once the treatment is complete, the gas is quickly eliminated from the body and it is non-addictive.
- Prior to your appointment:
- Please inform us of any change to your child’s health.
- Let us know if your little one is taking any medications on the day of the appointment.
- Some patients become nauseated while using nitrous oxide, so we ask that your child does not eat or drink anything 2 hours prior to the appointment to help reduce the risk of vomiting.
