No one likes finding out that they have a cavity, but children tend to take it much harder than adults do. To help prepare your child for getting a filling, follow the advice below!
Learning that your child has a cavity is never welcome news. Parents tend to feel guilty, and children can get quite upset about the news.
Of course, this is all understandable; cavities are never a good thing! But there are ways to make the filling process less stressful for your child, and to use the situation as a learning experience for you both.
For starters, stop feeling guilty!
Sometimes cavities sometimes just crop up despite our best efforts to practice good oral hygiene. It happens.
The important thing is that your child visited the dentist and the cavity was identified before it becomes a bigger problem. In addition, now you and your child both know which spots in their mouth need more careful cleaning during their at-home oral hygiene routine.
Stay calm.
When you talk to your child about getting a filling, keep your tone relaxed and light. Don't frame the experience as a sort of punishment for not brushing carefully enough. Instead, explain that ‘from now on, we have to make sure we clean each and every tooth even better than before!’
Prepare your child for the filling appointment with straightforward, age-appropriate language.
The language you use to describe what will happen during the filling procedure will vary depending on your child's age. For very young children, just explain that ‘the dentist is going to clean the sugar bugs out of your tooth,’ and leave it at that.
If your child is a little older, explain that the dentist will clean the area out and fill it with special filling material. You can explain that while the procedure may feel a bit awkward or uncomfortable at times, it's highly unlikely to be painful.
If your child is extremely anxious, consider sedation.
At Smile Town North Delta, we provide safe, effective sedation options for children who feel exceptionally nervous or afraid regarding their dental procedures.
Contact our office to discuss whether sedation is right for your child.
Use the situation as a learning experience.
Now that you know that your child’s oral hygiene routine needs some fine tuning, you can focus more attention on the area where the cavity occurred.