I HATE The Dentist! Why Scare My Kid At An Early Age?
Channel: DrLongVo
Date: 2012-01-31

http://SmileCentre.com/category/2x4-early-prevention/

Charlie: I've often said to my own children: We see what we look for. Have you even gone into a room and looked for something that wasn't where it was and so you leave and then twenty minutes later you find it and it was right next to something else? That's because we weren't looking for it there. I feel for this mother here who says: I hate going to the dentist so of course her whole attitude, the whole thing that she is looking at, is that she hates going to the dentist. I don't think that my child will like it either. Okay. Why scare him at such a young age? Because we're talking about coming in so early. I'd like to reverse that around and hope that mother can see something new from this whole program that we've talked about. But I'll put that question over to you because I think I know your answer already. Why take them at such a young age?

Dr. Long: The reason why the mother was probably scared of the dentist or hates the dentist is the same reason why she has to take her child to the dentist at the young age to prevent the child from hating the dentist. 

Charlie: Right.

Dr. Long: Normally, people hate the dentist because they had a bad experience.

Charlie: And they started so late and there was a problem and they had to drill or we had to pull or we had to...

Dr. Long: Yes, for sure and that's where we get those nightmare stories. And we want to teach people that prevention is so much easier, so much more pleasant, and less expensive and it's really the way to prevent transferring that fear of the dentist to their children. So even though you had a bad experience and you're reluctant to go yourself you may transfer that fear onto your kid and say I don't want my kid to go through that but the same reason if you take your child on a regular basis and we detect small things and they're fixed without the needle without numbing, without pain, it's pleasant, it doesn't cost too much and that way it becomes pleasant for your child. Perhaps for yourself if you can see that, you know what, you're already on the good path for good dental health then things are pretty good and they're not that bad and perhaps you can change your own mindset about it. If let's say if you're unable to change, at least give your child that chance to experience the good side of dentistry. It doesn't have to be negative what so ever.

Charlie: Yes, let's turn this completely around because I know from my daughter, my younger daughter, she was afraid of dogs most of her life because mom reacted to a dog once coming up when my daughter was really young. We then happened to be trick or treating one time, we of course cleaned her teeth very well after the trick or treating Dr. Long, and she met this dog from a neighbor and she just loved the dog and she loved dogs from then on because that woman's horizon expanded it for my daughter she could now see how to love the dog. So I, as a dad not as the dentist, but as a dad, plead with the mother who gave us this question. Please go early on so that the good set of habits, the good horizon, can be seen.

Dr. Long: As parents we have that power to break that legacy so it doesn't have to be that way. 

Charlie: Let's go the good way.

Dr. Long: Yes.

Dr. Marc: Absolutely, Dr. Julie it just occurs to me sitting here, and I can't help it because I'm a psychologist, that there's a whole other layer to this whole prevention program by bringing these children in with their mom's early setting all these good habits, you're actually preventing a kind of self fulfilling prophecy about what may have been bad experiences that someone else had growing up because they didn't have the kind of program offered to them that you're offering to your community, where you're setting these good habits, so you're actually preventing the next generation from having preconceived notions that dentistry is a painful thing that I have to fear.

Dr. Julie: It doesn't have to be because if you have the tools and the knowledge and you know what to do to keep your teeth healthy then you'll never have to experience negative appointments at the dentist. That's why it's so important to see those children early on and teach those children early on that dentistry is not scary and it doesn't have to be scary and it's fun and it's just about taking care of your teeth so you can be healthy as well.

Dr. Marc: What's awesome about that too is in the process of that you may actually break that pattern for the mom or the dad for their bad experience because they're seeing that it doesn't have to be that way.

Dr. Julie: Yes, hopefully for them as well because the more they fear, again, the more they will tend to neglect the dental health