Help! My toddler is afraid of the dentist

[seastar]

Hey everyone,

Despite the fact that my two year old has an excellent diet - she never has sugar, sweets, ice cream or juice & only very occasionally has chocolate (special occasions) - she has some staining on her teeth! I am pretty upset about this so I took her to the dentist...it did not go well. She would not sit in the chair so she sat on my lap instead. She refused to open her mouth & was very upset. Eventually the dentist got to look in as her mouth was open for screaming! Luckily, he said it was just staining & not decay, which was my big fear. Needless to say, it was very traumatic for all involved. My husband & I were never afraid of the dentist, even as children, so she didn't pick the fear up from us.

So, now I really want to help her overcome this. We have started to play dentist & she is enjoying it. I would also like to get some nice books to read to her - any recommendations?

Any other ideas?

Thanks!

[ecka]

That's a good start so that she will not be afraid of the dentist since we want our child to develop clean oral hygiene to have them clean and white teeth.

[Kerileanne99]

Seastar-
There is a lovely collection of stories in an Usbourne book called 'First Experiences', done in the whole Stephen Cartwright/heather Amery/ spot the duck.
They are fantastic, one on going to the dentist, the doctor, on a plane, to a party, all sorts of things. And the vocabulary is AWESOME! It is a book for young kids, but still manages to use correct ( mostly) terminology, and has taught Alex words like 'otoscope'...
Here is the Amazon listing....this is what we used to get Alex over her fear of the doctor and prepare her for the dentist...
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-First-Experiences-Usborne/dp/0794529488/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346671802&sr=8-1&keywords=USborne+book+of+first+experiences

[Lenrid]

My 5 y.o. daughter just hates doctors. We played doctor a lot but that doesn't help when we come to a reeal one

[seastar]

Seastar-
There is a lovely collection of stories in an Usbourne book called 'First Experiences', done in the whole Stephen Cartwright/heather Amery/ spot the duck.
They are fantastic, one on going to the dentist, the doctor, on a plane, to a party, all sorts of things. And the vocabulary is AWESOME! It is a book for young kids, but still manages to use correct ( mostly) terminology, and has taught Alex words like 'otoscope'...
Here is the Amazon listing....this is what we used to get Alex over her fear of the doctor and prepare her for the dentist...
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-First-Experiences-Usborne/dp/0794529488/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346671802&sr=8-1&keywords=USborne+book+of+first+experiences

That's one of the books that I ordered, hopefully it will help. Thanks guys

[baz]

There's an app called "Dr Sparkly Smiley" , it's free!

[ShenLi]

Hi Seastar,

There is also the Berenstain bears visist the dentist:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Berenstain-Bears-Visit-Dentist/dp/0394848365/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y

The other thing I can think of is the dental clinic that you visited... Was there something there that she might have found scary?  Could you try a different dentist or a paediatric dentist? Some clinics are geared more towards children and may be less intimidating.

Does she have any older cousins or friends that she can tag along with for a visit to the dentist? Sometimes being able to watch another child handle a visit (in a positive way of course) can help. Or she could be present when you or daddy visit the dentist so she can see that there's nothing scary to it.

THere are also videos on Youtube for children visiting the dentist that she can watch. Here are a coupld that I found (haven't watch through to the end but they seem to be okay)...

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/lUAnRhO8Xp4&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/lUAnRhO8Xp4&rel=1</a>

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/dC2tYHGNZaY&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/dC2tYHGNZaY&rel=1</a>

[seastar]

Update: Well, we haven't tried the dentist again, but the protests for brushing her teeth have reached epic proportions with either a nightly scream-fest or poorly brushed teeth. But tonight I think we had a breakthrough: She is completely OBSESSED with Baby Signing Time & when she asked to watch it this evening, I said she could watch one song if she cooperated fully with teeth brushing, meaning no whinging, no complaining etc. She thought about it for a minute or two before agreeing. It led to the calmest teeth brushing session for such a long time - yay! So, I think we will continue with our little behaviour plan and see if it leads to an improvement.

On a related note, have you any recommendations for the best electric toothbrush & the best toothpaste for a two year old as the manual toothbrush just isn't cutting it?

There is also the Berenstain bears visist the dentist:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Berenstain-Bears-Visit-Dentist/dp/0394848365/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y

The other thing I can think of is the dental clinic that you visited... Was there something there that she might have found scary?  Could you try a different dentist or a paediatric dentist? Some clinics are geared more towards children and may be less intimidating.

Does she have any older cousins or friends that she can tag along with for a visit to the dentist? Sometimes being able to watch another child handle a visit (in a positive way of course) can help. Or she could be present when you or daddy visit the dentist so she can see that there's nothing scary to it.

THere are also videos on Youtube for children visiting the dentist that she can watch. Here are a coupld that I found (haven't watch through to the end but they seem to be okay)...
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/lUAnRhO8Xp4&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/lUAnRhO8Xp4&rel=1</a>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/dC2tYHGNZaY&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/dC2tYHGNZaY&rel=1</a>

Some great ideas there ShenLi, thanks. My husband is thinking along the same lines as you that we should try another dentist. And it's a great idea to bring her along on positive dentist trips with other people.
She loves her new visiting the dentist books & she often incorporates the ideas into her play. I'll add those youtube videos also - thanks

[Kerileanne99]

Seastar-
We also went through a stage where Alex fought against having a toothbrush in her mouth! We allow her to do it herself first (which consists of minimal tooth cleansing and primarily sucking on the toothbrush (how gross is that?!), then it is Mum's turn...
We finally, after worrying that her teeth were not getting cleaned properly, asked a dentist friend.  He directed us to product:
http://www.spiffies.com/Toddlers-s/4.htm

Now, after brushing, we do a 'squeak test' to see if they are clean! We all get very quiet, and I use the little towelette with Zylitol (exceptional for tooth cleansing!), and we all 'listen' very quietly for the squeak!  Of course, it takes a good bit of vigorous rubbing of all teeth, and then, finally, mommy finds a loud 'SQUUUUEEEAAAAK' somewhere in her mouth, telling us her teeth are clean.

She loves it, and brushing always ends on a high note...Literally

[tlyoung]

Keri,
I will be ordering some of Spiffies for DS. We have been doing better with our brushing but could always use to do better. Our dentist suggested having a toothbrush for DS and one for me to use.

Seastar,
I wish your child's dentist visit was like DS's first check up. I took him to a pediatric dentist for his first  (2 yr old ) appointment. They were exceptional: they made sure I filled out all of their paperwork prior to the appointment, because nothing was to take away from the fun of our visit. They emphasized that this 1st appointment was meant to make sure DS likes going to HIS dentist from now on. We were greated and shown to the toy area that was filled with books about teeth, toys with a dental.mouth theme (i.e. huge toothbrush and a mouth with teeth to brush). They had gum ball machines with toys in them and DS was told he would get a coin for the toy machine after he was done with the dentist. The dentist walked the other child to the door and then greated DS in the toy area. He showed us pictures of his DD and held DS's hand as we walked to the office. DS sat on my lap while the dentist explained that he wanted to count DS's teeth, they counted some ducks together that were lined up on the desk. He had DS face me then lie down with his head in the dentist's lap. Apprehension did set in but was smoothed over by the dentist, teeth were counted while A and Ah were said by DS. Mom was told to brush better but all looked good. He mentioned that all four 2 yr old molars are coming in at the same time, that might explain the crankies we have been experiencing. DS earned his coin and a bag with a duck, toothbrush, kiddie toothpaste, kiddie dental floss. We made our return appointment 6 months from then and the dentist excorted DS to the door with a handshake good bye. WOW, I sure was impressed and DS only whimpered once. They emphasised that I return in 6 months to continue the posttive feelings. Our dental insurance covers these appointments and even if they didn't I would return. I know this is a long post  but I just wanted to let others know that a pediatric dentist is well worth taking your toddler to.

[seastar]

Keri - those Spiffies look great, thanks.

tlyoung - oh how different our experiences were! That dentist sounds amazing - sigh! You've inspired me to search for a paediatric dentist - thank you for that. My own denstist is only a few doors away from us so we went there for convenience sake, but looking back, I think you are right & we need to find someone who specialises in smallies.

[mclainpauline]

Toddler are always afraid to the dentist.  It is always best to keep brush clean so that it will be free from other elements and dust free. It is responsibility of parents to make good habit of dental for your kids.

[cinny]

I would also try products that contain xylitol because it kills the bacteria that cause decay.  We like to use the Spry brand of products and Vitacost usually has them pretty cheap.  My 2 year-old (T21) chews the gum and enjoys the granules.  It tastes sweet, but is not bad like sugar.  You have to make sure that you get at least 6 grams per day, but it will protect their teeth.

When I used to work as a dental hygienist, I would recommend that the child watch an older sibling, mom, or dad have their teeth cleaned.  Even watching a brave friend helps.  I also would let them just play in the dental chair (go for a ride) and suck and squirt water into a cup and then in their mouth.

I was afraid of the dentist when I was little and I have seen many rushed dentists be unkind and impatient with children.  It is great to find one that you like and that will take all of the time needed with your child.

cinny

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