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Masahiro Heima, DDS, PhD

Jacquie Pickrell, PhD

Peter Milgrom, DDS

Gerald Ferretti, DDS, MS, MPH

Sarah Park, BAContact info: 216-368-1379

masahiro.heima@case.edu

Turn That FrownUpside Down!4 Steps to HappierDental Visits

CWRU School of Dental

Medicine and University of

Washington Dept. of Dental

Public Health Sciences

Our goal is to do more than

just get kids through the

dental visit. The best plan is to

stop dental fear before it starts

3. Help your child telltheir own story 4. Connect behavior to health

A. Foster your childs feeling of self control

By developing your childs feeling ofself

control, it will help them in the future.

Some common mistakes parents make:

1. Everybody has to do it.

2. Dont be such a baby.

3. Stop crying and act your age.

4. Saying these things makes your child feel

helpless and more negative.

B. Make connections

Focus on the behavior you want your child

to repeat

Connect their good behavior and the den-

tists ability to keep their teeth healthy

Help them see the value of the dentist and

then help your child realize they are an active

player in improving their own health

1. Im so glad we came today so the dentist

could help you with your teeth.2. The dentist was able to help you because

you opened your mouth wide. Thanks for

helping him.

**Remember to think long term. You canhelp your child prepare for a lifetime of posi-

tive, healthy habits

A. Looking beyond the fear

Build your childs sense of

accomplishment by letting them talk

These are some common mistakes

parents make:

1. Ignoring the feelings or mistakenly

over-emphasize the negative: I

know it hurts but its over now.

2. Use bribing or favors to make the

sting go away: Lets go to your

favorite restaurant, it will make

you feel better.

3. When you do all the talking, your

child stops listening and does little

to change the negative feelings.

B. Put your child in the drivers seat

Your child needs to make this

positive story their own, so the very

act of saying the words out loud helps

connect the story in their memory

Tips to strengthen positive thought:

1. When you get home, what are

you going to tell Dad about the going

to the dentist?

2. By practicing what they will say

to another person, they will reinforce

the positive memory in a lasting way

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Children who have fearful dental

experiences are more likely to carry

that fear with them for the rest of

their lives. Sadly this can lead them

to avoid visits to the dentist as

adults, which can be very unhealthy.

This summary pamphlet will help

you help your child be happier and

more cooperative on this/her next

dental visit

Conquering Fear of

the Dentist 1. Listen and Sympathize 2. Give Positive & Specific Feedback

A. Focus on the positive

What you say and how you say it are

important in forming the memory and atti-tudes your child will have for a lifetime.

You can help build a positive memory by

helping your child recognize importance of

appropriate and positive behavior within

the scary experience.

Dont just say Good job or Its over

now, get over it. because it just glosses

over the experience without finding the

positive aspectB. Build a positive memory

Focus on the positive elements of the

experience and the childs behavior. Rein-

force the good parts of the behavior you

want them to repeat.

Tell them about the positive behavior and

be specific. Focus on these ideas:

1. They sat down in the dentist chair

2. They opened their mouth and let the

dentist look at it

3. They kept their hands still and listened

to the dentist

Reinforce even the smallest behavior but

do not lie. Use any example of when

your child was cooperating

A. Help your child calm down

Children are afraid of the dentist because they

do not understand the situation well.

It is important that they hear from you that you

understand their feelings and are listening

Overpowering or distracting your child may

temporarily help the situation but it does not

deal with the fear so the fear can continue and/or

get worse.

B. Show them you are listening

Sympathize with how they are feeling by

showing them you are listen by what you sayand how you say it.

Body language tips:

1. Give them full attentionput away cell

phones, magazines, etc.

2. Face your child

3. Make eye contact and be face to face.

C. Listen and let them know it

When your child is upset in a public place,help them calm down by taking them aside and

talking to them

Distracting children from feeling bad may

work in short term, but it can lead to long to

problems when children feel they are not being

listened to.

Tips to say to show active listening:

1. I can see you are upset. Lets talk about it.

2. I know that was scary for you. Can you tellme what you are afraid of?

Foursimple steps to happier dental

visits:

1. Listen and sympathize

2. Specify positive things the child

did

3. Help them tell their own story

4. Connect behavior to health