About Us < Dental Services < Current Health News < But I don't want to go!

	Dr Minh Nguyen

	The Dental Team

	Dental Services

	Dental Technology

But I Don't Want to go!

A trip to the dentist is sometimes a scary experience for a young child and could end up being a traumatic experience for the parent as well. You can help prepare your child for a visit to the dentist several ways:

Go to your library and have an assistant help you locate books written especially for children about visiting the dentist.
Read stories to your child about visiting the dentist.
Call and ask if your dentist has a pre-visit video or informational handout.
Ask your dentist if you can bring your child on a “field trip” to the office so that the child can see the waiting room, meet the people in the office, and maybe see a treatment room and sit in the exam chair.
Talk to your child about your experiences of going to the dentist (only good experiences, please!).
Tell your child what might—and might not—happen in the dentist’s chair. Your openness and honesty will help your youngster learn to cope with many early childhood experiences, such as going to the dentist. It is important to calm the child’s fears about the experience.
Encourage your child to talk about those fears so that you can help your child to learn to deal with fears.

When you go to the dentist for your own appointment, please consider leaving children with a babysitter. Watching you undergo even a simple teeth-cleaning procedure can be very upsetting to a child. A child can be frightened by the sharp instruments on the tray or by blood that is oftentimes seen when a tooth is deeply cleaned. The child may become tearful because she or he is not yet able to understand that the hygienist is not hurting you. And because the child cannot be close to you or sit in your lap for comfort, this becomes an even more stressful situation for all, including your hygienist.

You Are Not Alone

Here are four books that will help prepare your child for a visit to the dentist.

Going to the Dentist, by Fred Rogers. Mister Rogers is well-known for his pleasant, child-friendly manner which is shown throughout this delightful little book. His words help to reinforce the idea of giving loving support to a child and building trust. He takes children through the whole experience: why dentists are needed and the entire dental office visit. Wonderful photographs accompany each idea presented in the book. Mister Rogers wrote several First Experiences Books; you may want to read the whole series!

I’m Going to the Dentist, A Ladybird BeforeYouGo Book illustrated by Maxie Chambliss. The book contains pop-ups and moveable tabs. It includes drawings of instruments that your child will see in the treatment room and that the dentist will use during the check-up. The child can move a tab and see how the instrument works! The book also contains good dental hygiene advice for your child.

Milo’s Toothache, by Ida Luttrell. The book is written for children ages 5–8 who are learning to read on their own. It is a funny story about a group of animal friends who are afraid of going to the dentist, but they want to go with their friend Milo who has a toothache. The story will have children squealing with laughter at the zany antics the friends go through in the dentist’s waiting room. In the end, Milo has the last laugh on his fraidy-cat friends.

The Berenstain Bears Visit the Dentist, by Stan and Jan Berenstain. This is a cute story about Sister Bear’s loose tooth. She’s a little fearful, but she goes to the dentist with her brother where the dentist lets her watch Brother Bear’s exam. Sister Bear is afraid the dentist will use the big tooth yanker on her loose tooth. The authors artfully use humor to show children that a dentist is kind, caring and gentle. There are reminders in the story that reinforce good oral hygiene habits.