Calming the Anxious Child

Our pediatric dentists and team have special training to help the anxious child feel secure during their dental appointments. Our offices designs are kid-friendly, and our team members choose to work in our pediatric dental practice because they enjoy working with kids. We describe the atmosphere as similar to a kindergarten setting. We are like kindergarten teachers who educate and happen to work on teeth.

What happens at my appointment?

We use a method called “Tell-Show-Do”.  Children can see beforehand exactly what will be done during an appointment. Some management styles we use are coaching, using distraction techniques, modeling with another patient, and praising the child. Make each dental visit enjoyable and positive by refraining from using words that cause unnecessary fear, such as “needle/shot, pull, drill, or hurt”. Replace these words with more friendly terms such as “California Cooler, wiggle, Mr. Bumpy, and sleepy”. If you want to talk to your child about their dental visit, then please let us help you with the terms you use, so that we can all be consistent with what is said.