{"id":854,"date":"2017-12-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-12-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/dental-care-blog\/helping-child-trust-dentist-2\/"},"modified":"2017-12-20T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-12-20T00:00:00","slug":"helping-child-trust-dentist-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/dental-care-blog\/helping-child-trust-dentist-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping Your Child Trust The Dentist"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/hudsonhighlandsdentistryblog.socialmediafordentistry2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/91\/2017\/12\/helping-your-child-trust-the-dentist_543.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"543\" height=\"543\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1568\" \/> <strong>EVEN THOUGH WE ALL<\/strong> know how important it is to go to the dentist, dental anxiety can make many people avoid crucial dental checkups. For some, dental anxiety starts in childhood and lasts a lifetime. How can we help our children start out with a positive mindset towards the dentist so that they will always seek the professional care and attention their teeth need as adults? <\/p>\n<h3><strong>Be Honest But Avoid Negativity<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p> The most important thing you can do for your child is to not make a trip to the dentist into an ordeal. Simply approach it as a perfectly normal part of staying healthy. Tell your child about an upcoming dental visit ahead of time so that it isn\u2019t a surprise, and answer their questions about what dental appointments are like. Try to avoid scary words like \u201cpain\u201d and \u201cshots,\u201d and leave the detailed explanations of dental procedures to us.  One crucial thing to do even when there isn\u2019t an appointment coming up is to <strong>never use the dentist as a threat<\/strong>. Saying things like, \u201cIf you don\u2019t brush your teeth, you\u2019ll end up at the dentist!\u201d will only make a child think dentist visits are punishments \u2014 something to be feared and avoided.\u00a0You can still encourage good oral hygiene habits without portraying the dentist as the boogeyman, like the way <strong>this video does:<\/strong>  <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"543\" height=\"305\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aOebfGGcjVw?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" gesture=\"media\" allow=\"encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe> <\/p>\n<h3><strong>Address Existing Sources Of Fear<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p> If your child is already afraid of the dentist, you might have a little more of an uphill battle to fight, but it\u2019s still a battle you can win! Communication is key. Talk to your child about why they\u2019re afraid of the dentist and help them understand that it isn\u2019t so scary. Lead by example and show them that you go to the dentist too.  Patience is also crucial. Even for adults, the idea of having a stranger poking and prodding inside our mouths while we\u2019re lying in a vulnerable position can be unsettling, so imagine how that must be for a child who isn\u2019t used to it. Make sure your child understands that dental cleanings will make their teeth feel great and that <strong>the dentist is on their team<\/strong>, helping them fight bad germs and tooth decay.  <\/p>\n<h3><strong>We Are Happy To Help<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p> Sometimes, dental anxiety is too strong for these strategies to completely cure. That\u2019s where we come in. Our team knows how to work with children to make them feel more comfortable, so don\u2019t feel like you have to make them love us without our help! <\/p>\n<h4>We\u2019re looking forward to helping your child\u2019s smile stay healthy and bright!<\/h4>\n<h6>Top image used under <span style=\"color: #2a7abd;\"><a style=\"color: #2a7abd;\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/share-your-work\/public-domain\/cc0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CC0 Public Domain license<\/a><\/span>. Image cropped and modified from original.<\/h6>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #d9d9d9;\">The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.<\/span><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>EVEN THOUGH WE ALL<\/strong> know how important it is to go to the dentist, many people suffer from dental anxiety, which can&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":855,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[176,273,274,275],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-dental-posts","category-general-dental","category-pediatric","category-176","category-273","category-274","category-275","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=854"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}