Dentists Methods of Dealing with Children

Dentists who specialize in pediatric dentistry are called pedodontists. These dental professionals have the difficult job of making a child’s first impression of a dental favorable. This means that the first visit is usually the platform from which the child’s behavior for every visit to the dentists may be. The oral health care provider should be able to earn a degree of trust and comfort from the child. One other important aspect of making the child comfortable with visits to the dentist stems from the parents or the guardian who takes care of the child. Parents or guardians should be aware that children often follow on their footsteps and treat them as role models. When the parent shows some anxiety when visiting the clinic, most likely the child picks up the slight nuances that are exhibited and will be an extension of the anxiety. Parents should also be conscious of how they describe the oral health care provider to their children long before they bring their kids for a visit. The way they talk about dentists or talk about how other children react negatively towards one can mar the experience of a first visit.

Getting to Know Each Other

One of the first things that the pedodontist usually does with children is to get a feel of comfort between them. This means that there is no actual procedure during the first meeting. Dental professionals often just ask the child to sit on the chair and examine their oral cavity. This will give dentists a chance to assess the child’s reaction. It also gives them a chance to actually assess the state of the oral cavity and the teeth on order to know how to proceed during the following visits. Some oral health care providers also give their small patients a chance to explore the clinic as well as become familiar with the different tools, machines and equipments that are present in the area. This practice will help to lessen the child’s anxiety when faced with new tools and implements which may look threatening at first. The pedodontist usually explains to the child the various uses of the tools, machines and equipment in the clinic.

Actual Procedure

The pedodontist needs to explain to the parents what techniques he or she will use to handle their child in the clinic during a procedure. It is important for the parents to be aware of the measures that the pediatric dental professionals will do to control the individual. The use of a sedative may be necessary if the patient is anxious, fidgety and always moving during the procedure. Dentists are allowed the use of sedative for their patients by the state to make way for a successful session. Some parents agree with the use of this while others have misgivings about this.

Some children can be managed by simply talking to them about the repercussions of moving about in the middle of treatment. The dentist sometimes has to firmly hold the child, with the permission of the parent, in order to finish a delicate procedure. This is something that oral health care providers do not wish to do often.