Managing a Child’s Dental Anxiety

Dental anxiety is common among adults, and all the more so with children. They’re coming into a place where they feel they have very little power, and they see a selection of scary instruments that are to be used in their mouths.

If you do not help your child to feel comfortable during dental visits, he or she may very well continue to feel debilitating anxiety well into adulthood.

Tips for Child’s Dental Anxiety

Consider the following advice to achieve this goal:

• You should bring your child in at an early age. Consider bringing him or her in during your own appointments to help make the experience a familiar and comfortable one.
• Put a good face on the dentist’s office. If this is a stressful place for you, children can pick up on your emotional cues and may become more stressed out themselves.
• Avoid language like “everything will be okay” when taking your child in for an appointment. He or she may likely feel some discomfort in the dental chair, and you don’t want them to feel betrayed by you when they do.
• Don’t offer bribes. When you feel the need to offer a reward for going to the dentist’s office, a child will likely expect an unpleasant experience and react accordingly.

It is generally advised that you bring your child to our Bellevue dentist for the first time at the age of one. Call Overlake Dental for additional information.