It’s much more common for children to get toothache than adults.
Why do kids suffer more with toothache than adults?
It is simply because it takes time for children to develop the hard enamel that adults’ teeth have for protection. To begin with, this layer is almost chalk-like, and kids’ teeth take a little while to fully grow.
Since there’s little you can do beyond the normal procedures of good dental hygiene to stop some particularly prone children from having problems with their teeth, one of the things you have communicate to your child is that a trip to the dentist is positive and beneficial.
It is sad but true that so often children are put off going to the dentist by the way that they are portrayed. Dentists are frequently realised in a negative light, whether on the television or through word of mouth, and this can leave many kids feeling frightened.
Now is as good a time as any to start convincing your child that the dentist is only there to help – a fact that even as adults we tend to forget.
Here’s some advice on how to make the process easier:
Personally, I had to make lots of trips to the dentist when I was young, and have lots of work done – which left me, ultimately, completely unfazed by relatively smaller procedures such as fillings later in life. My parents always said that I was so brave for putting up with everything the dentist could throw at me when I was young, that now I could use this previous experience to be ready for anything.
It’s always a good thing to make sure your kids know how proud you are of them for being so grown up whenever they have a dentist visit – it can be a good step towards making sure they’re not trying to cover up toothache in the future.
I always close my eyes and recite lyrics to favourite songs in my head whilst I’m at the dentist, which I find helps a lot.
Consider this: having work done at the dentist will not really take any longer than half a game of football. When we are enjoying ourselves, time can just fly by – we’ve all had an hour disappear when we’re having fun without even noticing. The key to this is to remain distracted and try to recapture that same feeling of remoteness, and you can do this by concentrating on anything, even just what you’re going to do for the rest of the day. Suggest to the kids that they think about things that they find fun. Think of something fun for them to do that you can promise them for after the dentist visit, so that whilst they’re in the chair they can be looking forward to it to keep their mind distracted.
Need a check-up? Find local dentists in Maidenhead.