“Brush Kar lo nahin toh doctor injection de dega“
“Please Chocolate mat khaana tumhare daant sad jayenge”
Remember as children if we wouldn’t brush,the myriad threats we would face from doctors,injections or even the fear of tooth extractions would suffice to make anything to do with teeth-brushing or treatments absolutely dreadful! My childhood was spent avoiding brushing at night and sneaking in sweets and my only dental visits were for braces and they started of on an unpleasant note with 4 extractions and that’s the only memory I have when someone says Dentist!!
Until I became one and started realizing that we could affect this change ONE SMILE at a time.
Dentistry has changed drastically if we are willing to adapt to that change. National Children’s Dental Health Month should be more than a calendar month.Let’s make a positive change for our future generations.
Here are 5 key factors to eliminating fear in a child’s mind.
1. No More Threats If you’re a parent,teacher,caregiver or even a doctor stop threatening.Start at home by eliminating threats from your vocabulary. We transmit our fears unknowingly to our young ones it’s time we became conscious of the impact our words have on their psyche.
2.Make It Fun As parents we are diligent in our research to figure what’s the best way my child should brush or the best product to use but we seldom look into how to make it more fun. We just impose brushing and expect the child to follow suit. We often advise parents that making your child’s brushing activity fun by using apps,games,gadgets and music can go a long way in their dental health for life.So don’t stress about what to brush with but rather how should your child be taking up to brushing and oral hygiene in general.
3.Research a Painfree specialist The term family dentist is totally passé there is no such concept anymore.With a wide variety of specialisations and recent advances just one person is not expected to handle the dental needs of your entire family. Pediatric dentists are specialized to work on children and there adult specialists who treat different dental maladies be it your root canals,gum problems,teeth alignment and even teeth replacement. Be sure to choose a compassionate care provider whose prime concern is to ensure that pain should be the last thing you or your child are feeling in the chair.
4.Memorable First Visit It’s a special day when a child visits a dentist for the first time. It can be the start of a life long relationship with the dental care provider and even their concept in general with their own dental health. The doctor must ensure they take all the measures to make a positive impact on the patients mind always maintaining an encouraging tone rather than an intimidating authoritative attitude. A variety of exciting surprises can be prepared for your child’s dental visit based on their age so that they walk out smiling.
5.Rewards If your child was brave enough to go through a dental visit and battle the demons that we have so meticulously planted in their minds,let us at least make sure they’re rewarded starting from the clinic itself and even back at home. Be it their favorite thing to eat or a small present that they have been vying for try and create a positive memory association or rewarding good behavior at the dentist. This will ensure that your child is ready for the next visit. Let me summarize with every parents checklist for their child’s healthy dental future. If you have
- refrained from threatening or bullying your child into brushing,
- he finds it a fun activity,
- has been to Pain-free expert and had an excellent first dental visit with a reward commemorating his behaviour need I say you’ve done your best!
