A Visit to the Dentist
Dental fear is anxiety or stress in relation to a dental setting (Victoria State Government, 2021). If left untreated, it can lead to significant dental anxiety or dental phobia (Seligman et. al., 2017).
Dental fear and anxiety (DFA) can be triggered the moment a child walks into a dental office and could potentially show disruptive behaviors from fidgeting to full blown tantrums which can delay or inhibit dental treatment (Seligman et. al., 2017; Victoria State Government, 2021). Children with poor oral health are prone to experience a continuous cycle of fear and anxiety as they are in need of an more intense dental treatment through emergency services (Shindova & Belcheva, 2021). In addition, another common condition children tend to experience when going to the dentist is sensory defensiveness. This happens is exposed to a variety of sensations within a setting that can cause them to experience over-reactivity (Miller-Kuhaneck, n.d.).
Factors in a Dental Setting:
Scheduling a dental appointment:
Every individual lives off of habits and routines as its essential to help keep their meaningful activities consistent. A dental check-up typically occurs once or twice a year and that tends to disrupt within a routine because is it not done on a normal basis. This would be exposing to a new setting with different tasks and it can difficult to predict what is going to happen at the visit.
Decrease in control:
Your child’s fear and anxiety at the dentist can potentially come from lack of control. It can be due to your child being unfamiliar with the setting or when they start to experience pain and they don’t understand of how to communicate to the dental hygienist of when to stop.
FACT: When a child is exposed to a negative experience due to pain and the decrease in control of the situation, they are 15 times more likely to not be returning to the dentist and 13 times more likely to fear going to the dentist (Shindova & Belcheva, 2021).
Sensations within dental treatment:
There are a variety of sensations your child is exposed to when going to the dentist. This can be an overwhelming experience as they are taking in different sensations from smelling, touching, tasting, seeing, and hearing. The most rated fear children experience is the sight and sensation between the anesthetic needle and the drill (Shindova & Belcheva, 2021). Other fears children may develop at the dentist are the sight of blood, fear of pain, or unpleasant smells of dental equipment/oral products.
Dental team members:
The first dental visit is important to consider because your child develops their belief and attitude when it comes to dental treatment and going to the dentist. Dental staff who show negative, unfriendly behavior could result in a shorter, unpleasant treatment that increase a child for DFA.
(Shindova & Belcheva, 2021; University of Pennsylvania, 2022)
Sensory Defensiveness:
There are different sensations your child is exposed to and they may show sensory defensiveness during their dental treatment. Here are some different sensory defensiveness they may exhibit:
Pulling away from the dental hygienist as they react to unpredictable touches in particular the facial region
Fear responses to the noises of the alarms and intercom or the movement of the dental chair
Over-reactive gag response to dental tools or x-ray pieces in the mouth
Troubles tolerating the intensity of the light above their head
Expressing strong dislike to polishing paste because of the texture
(Miller-Kuhaneck, n.d.)
Methods to Enhance Positive Experience:
There are a variety of recommendations to help your child have a more positive experience when going to your local dentist.
Raising your hand: This can be an effective tactic for your child to use when they communicate with their dental hygienist to help build trust and self confidence of when to stop or take a break during their visit.
Wearing the x-ray vest: This can provide deep pressure and weight as a calming mechanism when your child is feeling anxious and needs the proprioceptive input.
Oral vibration/deep pressure: A vibrating toothbrush or a mini massager can help stimulate your child’s mouth prior to going in the dentist.
Chewy foods: This can help implement deep sensory input and provide more resistance to help the jaw do some hard work prior to the visit.
Sunglasses: Your child may be sensitive to light and that can be a barrier on sitting still under a bright florescent light. Wearing some sunglasses they desire to wear helps with eliminating the brightness of the light and to make the experience more fun.
Social Stories: There are step-by-step books that goes into detail about is expected to happen when your child goes to the dentist to reduce the anxiety and unpredictability.
Mindfulness: Your child can engage in doing some deep breathing exercises before or during the visit to help calm their body down.
Music: Your child could listen to music through some headphone to help reduce stress and block out noises.
Fidget toy: This can help your child receive tactile input and implement heavy work during treatment.
(Miller-Kuhaneck, n.d.;Shindova and Belcheva, 2021; University of Pennsylvania, 2022).
References
Miller-Kuhaneck, H. (n.d.). Going to the dentist. STAR Institute. https://sensoryhealth.org/basic/going-to-dentist
Seligman, L. D., Hovey, J. D., Chacon, K., & Ollendick, T. H. (2017). Dental anxiety: An understudied problem in youth. Clinical Psychology Review, 55, 25–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2017.04.004
Shindova, M. P., & Belcheva, A. B. (2021). Dental fear and anxiety in children: A review of the environmental factors. Folia Medica, 63(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.3897/folmed.63.e54763
University of Pennsylvania. (2022). Managing dental anxiety with patients who have disabilities. Penn Dental Medicine. https://penndentalmedicine.org/blog/calming-dental-anxiety/
Victoria State Government (2021). Dental anxiety and phobia. Better Health Channel. http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/dental-anxiety-and-phobia