Five Ways Ontario Dentists Can Create the Best In-Office Experience for Children Patients
Because little smiles deserve a positive beginning to oral health care!
It’s February, which means it’s National Children’s Dental Health Month!
In honour of this month, we’re going to talk about several ways in which dentists and hygienists can make a child’s dental visit as pleasant and stress-free as possible (and perhaps even a little fun)!
Below are some several helpful things you can do to create a positive, educational and stress-free dental visit for your littlest patients - so they can learn to adopt a healthy attitude toward oral health care, while also building trust between themselves and their dental caretaker:
1. Offer entertainment in the form of a TV show or music for during their procedure
It’s quite beneficial to offer a form of entertainment to help distract and pass the time for your child patient during their dental procedure. Prior to treatment, ask them if they’d like to choose a show to watch via the overhead TV screen, or alternatively, if they’d prefer to listen to some music. That way, the dental procedure and many sensations that come along with it won’t be the main focus the entire time (which, as we know, can cause anxiety particularly for patients with dental phobia).
2. Ask their parent or guardian questions beforehand
It doesn’t hurt to have a brief discussion with the child’s parent or caretaker to discuss anything that could be useful to know about the child prior to their visit
Ask them questions like, “Does [Name] have a favourite cartoon or video game character that I can mention during their appointment?” or, “Does [Name] have any special events coming up that I can ask them about?” Learning a little bit about your young patient can help you to provide a more personalized, comforting and fun experience!
3. For educational benefit: Quiz your young patient dental on some oral health trivia
Your child patient has an opportunity to learn even more about oral health during their visit with the professionals. Quiz them on their oral health knowledge by asking questions like, “do you know how many minutes you should be brushing your teeth for every day?”, or even feel free to include fun little facts such as, “did you know that ancient toothpastes used to include crushed eggshells and honey?”
Apart from being fun and interactive, these questions may incite even more curiosity about oral health!
4. Let them choose their own toothbrush after their check-up and cleaning
Who doesn’t love the oral health care goodie bag that comes after a dental visit? During your child patient’s appointment, tell them that they can choose from a selection of different toothbrush designs/colours before they leave. This will give them something to look forward to, and will again help to open them up to the idea that they have control over their oral health care journey - and that it can also be really be fun!
5. If you have time, let them take a peek inside their own mouth with the intraoral camera
The intraoral camera is not only a useful tool for dental health professionals, but it can also be educational and quite fun for the patients themselves when they get to take a peek inside their own mouths. That said, you can use the intraoral camera to show your child patient those super cool close-up images of their teeth and gums, while educating them along the way. Children are very visual, so they’ll likely appreciate seeing their own teeth on the screen!
How do you make dentistry fun and stress-free for your child patients?
Every dental health professional has their own style of caregiving, and has different techniques up their sleeve when it comes to providing the best service possible for patients of all ages.
We hope you’ve found these 5 tips helpful for creating a better overall in-office dental experience for younger patients!
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