Is your child a little nervous to come to the dentist? Do they always ask if things are going to hurt? We can’t even tell you how common this is and it’s also why we are here! It’s our job and our goal to help put your child at ease and help them to have a pleasant experience at the dentist. We are always hopeful that with all of our techniques and tricks that we use, that they will leave happy and excited to come back. Of course, it’s not always that straight forward or easy so we have a lot of ways to help an anxious kiddo.

Our staff is very well versed in working with kids of all ages. We take pride in our work and helping your child to have the best possible experience. If we have an anxious patient, we make sure to take the additional time needed to make them comfortable and help ease their mind. We provide a lot of TLC and explanation. If they are scared of the spinning toothbrush, we can use a regular toothbrush, if they are scared of the tools that we use, we can show them what they are used for, let them hold the mirror, etc. and that usually helps put them more at ease. Dr. Nolan is great at letting them push the buttons to move the chair up and down, letting them turn on the light, little things like that which can help them to be more comfortable in the chair.

If your child needs restorative work done, that can be nerve-wracking (for them and for you!). We provide nitrous oxide which they use during the appointment to help them feel more relaxed and to help the time go by a little faster for them. At the end of the appointment, we let them breath oxygen for 5 minutes to make sure the nitrous is out of their system. After this, they are able to go back to school or to whatever activity was planned for the day. We also provide a movie for kiddos to watch while getting this type of treatment done. Between the nitrous oxide and the movie, most kids do really, really well with treatment, even if they start out a little nervous.

While we can’t guarantee that all of this will help an extremely anxious child, with patience and time, we can win over almost anybody! We are here to help and to make the experience for your child one that is fun, helpful and exciting for them and where they look forward to coming back. Being in an office surrounded by other children helps, too and the prizes at the end don’t hurt, either! Please let us know if we can answer any questions or help in any way, we look forward to making your child’s next appointment a fun and smooth one.