Make Dentist Appointments Fun for Your Kids

Many kids often experience dental anxiety when going to the dentist. This may be because many children associate dentist appointments with having to experience uncomfortability and pain. The reality of it is that dentist appointments may not be painful, but they can be uncomfortable. No one wants to willingly have someone prodding around their mouth with sharp looking tools. It can definitely scare anyone, even adults who attend dentist appointments on a regular basis. In order for children to want to attend their dentist appointments, they have to view these appointments as a fun outing and not a life or death situation. In order to encourage your children to have a better experience at the dentist, you have to make it fun for them.

According to NCBI.gov, studies have shown that there are about 74.1 percent of children facing moderate to severe dental anxiety. This number is significantly high for any age group to experience dental anxiety. The fear mostly comes from having to experience pain. No one wants to experience pain in their mouth especially when it has to do with another person being blamed for causing the pain. Children associate dentist with pain because of prior experiences or fearful thoughts that they just fear in general of the dentist. The downfall to dental anxiety is that it causes children to suffer. Their overall dental health tends to deteriorate, and they begin to cause more damage to their teeth due to a lack of dental care. Many times, children attend their dentist appointments and they are forced to have to stop because of the intense anxiety they experience.

According to Parents.com, there are many things that you can do as a parent to help your child overcome their anxiety and fears with dentist appointments. Some of the …