If your little one is scared of the dentist, then you’ve come to the right place. We love looking after the whole family, and have never met a kid we couldn’t win over. The key to getting your child to trust the dentist is for us to build that trust with them. Usually when kids are scared of going to the dentist, it’s because they don’t know what’s going to happen, OR, in the past a doctor or dentist has hurt or scared them in some way. It’s up to us to prove to them that we’re not going to hurt them or do anything that scares them. We have a few tricks up our sleeve when it comes to building trust with anxious kids. Firstly, we don’t rush anything. Mum, Dad, Grandma, whoever you like, comes in with them. We give them time to explore the room, talk to us, ask questions, before they get in the dental chair. If they don’t want to sit in the chair straight away, they can sit on a parent’s lap for as long as they need to. The most important thing is for your child to realise they’re in control. They get to choose what flavour toothpaste they have, they can choose what we put on the tv. If they’re worried our toothpaste will taste strange, they can bring their own from home. If they’re super nervous and don’t want their teeth cleaned, we often just do a checkup at the first visit, and plan to clean their teeth in the future. They need to know that if it’s not ok with them, we won’t do it. The other thing our little patients really love, is that they get a goodie bag with their name on it every time they come in. They can choose a sparkly toothbrush, sticker and toy to go in their bag.
If your child has any specific triggers for anxiety, then letting us know will really help us to put them at ease. For example, some kids hate loud noises, so we can usually do our thing without using the suction to make things easier for them. If you’d like to find out more, or book your child in to see one of our dentists, please visit our website.