As parents, you're probably familiar with this: Your child has a dentist appointment coming up! Or even if it's just the intention of making an appointment for your little one. Suddenly, thoughts of your own experiences (which perhaps weren't always positive) come flooding back.
Tip 1: What you say influences your child!
Of course, you want your child not only healthy teeth, but also a relaxed attitude towards visits to the dentist. Well, that's really not difficult at all! It sounds strange, but it depends a lot on you as parents. After all, you are your children's most trusted adults, especially when it comes to doctor's appointments.
The messages and words you give your child about an upcoming doctor's visit or examination have a strong influence on them. From my perspective as a dentist, dealing with child patients is still very varied and, in a positive sense, exciting.
Tip 2: Warning! Negative messages stick in the memory!
Here's an example I recently experienced: The mother said, "Sit down over there. The dentist is just going to quickly check your teeth for cavities because you always eat so much sweets and don't brush your teeth properly! It's very quick and doesn't hurt at all!"
Perhaps this sounds familiar. We dentists know from experience that children who are already agitated in unfamiliar surroundings unfortunately only remember the following: "Mommy said something about it hurting (=fear), and there are cavities because I did something wrong (=guilt)..." Well, who wants to open their mouth then?!
Tip 3: Make people want to visit!
That's certainly not a good start for a child's relationship with the dentist. How about this instead: "I have an appointment with someone who will tell you something interesting about your teeth. Maybe they'll even count them. When you get older, you'll get some great new teeth, maybe you already have one, and then you can tell your friends. You can also show them how well you brush your teeth."
Tip 4: Talk to the child about the visit!
Talk to your child about having their teeth checked themselves and whether anything has already been repaired. It's important to speak about it as neutrally as possible so that children come to the dentist without any preconceived notions.
If I, as the dentist, manage to establish a good rapport with your child – which isn't always the case, and that's perfectly fine – children reveal their full personality, and that's very rewarding and helpful for us as dentists. This allows us to assess how best to treat them, should the need arise. Because then we can always be completely honest with our young patients without overwhelming them.
Tip 5: Take it with you to your own check-up appointment!
Why not take your child along when you have a check-up appointment? That way they can get to know the premises and will probably even get to play with the water pistol.
Dr. Matthias Wittich is a dentist in Lower Saxony and takes extra time for his young patients during their first visit to his practice.