Going to the dentist is a trip that most children fear. As a parent, it might be a challenging experience to say the least to take your child to the dentist, because most of the time it is followed by reluctance, restraint, and even shrill cries! Hence, following are the 5 tricks you can try on your child to make the next trip to the pediatric dentist an enjoyable experience for your children to ease the pain.
Positive role play
It’s important that you educate your child in a positive manner before going to the dentist. Play a dentist’s part, and let your child play him / herself. Making such role-playing games fun for your kid is up to you. Do what makes you happy with him or her.
Be polite and playful during the process, for example, to give the impression that this is how dentists are. This step is a must because if the child is not afraid of the dentist himself, he might not fear the clinic encounter either.
Start early
This too is a precautionary measure. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) strongly recommends that parents start using a wet cloth or a clean gauze to clean the teeth of an infant as soon as the first tooth emerges.
According to the AAP, it not only ensures that the teeth remain clean but also offers a sensory experience for the infant. This sensory experience is something that the child needs to get used to as it helps to get over the fear of the dental clinic in future.
Accompany with their favorite toys
Comforting your child during the dentist’s trip would only do the child’s psyche good. Do you wonder why your child can’t stay away from its toys? It is basically because in those toys, he or she finds unprecedented happiness.
Therefore, retaining what makes them happy during a trip that they might otherwise fear, would only ease their experience during the trip. Likewise, keep your child involved in friendly discussions, or their favorite music. The goal is to console the kid while on the trip.
Let them watch you and learn
As with any other pediatric experience, a child under the age of 8 has generally no idea what to expect. This lack of knowledge of the unknown will act further as a stress for the kid. To solve this, take your child to the dentist on your own appointments, and let him or her watch the whole operation.
Ensure that you are acting completely natural during this period, and make the experience look absolutely painless. Children learn by experiences, and the fact that you are completely unaffected by the dentist’s experience would only instill confidence in your child during his or her own trip to the dentist.
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