Oral Health: A Word on Dental Fear, Issues and Prevention
Same as mаny people, I’d be lying if I said I have no fear of dentists. Sometimes just the thought of paying them a visit scares me, other times it’s the smell, the vibration and noise some of the tools make upon a visit, even if I’m not experiencing particular pain.
Oh the pain, don’t even get me started… After a traumatic experience when I was just nine years old, needing to have my tooth extracted because of an injury and ending up all swollen due to the poor dentistry, I’ve never been at ease with dentists.
This is why it’s important to find the right dentists you’d entrust your oral health and well-being with, as I did when I had my share of cosmetic dentistry.
As a mum, I often think of my fears and prevent myself from projecting them, at least when Matthew is around so he wouldn’t start mirroring me. This being said, I’ve taken the time to consider how to teach him dental habits best way I can, brushing and flossing daily, and show him there’s nothing to worry about even with serious cases like tooth extractions.
Sometimes a tooth can be saved, however with issues like dental decay, severe gum disease, vertical root fractures, injuries or small jaws resulting in crowded teeth there might not be other solutions than extraction which is why it’s best to have that talk with kids as early as possible to prepare them in case they’d need to go through such an experience.
Going unaware of the pain they might have to endure can traumatize them for life as it did with me. Finding the considerate professionals is essential if you want to reduce the chances of dental fear and so are early dental visits to have kids get used to trips to the dentist, the chair, the tools, the sounds, the smells and I’d say even the (possible) pain of treatments and solutions such as tooth extractions.
Prevention is the best way to avoid decay which often is one of the most common reasons for extractions so Matthew is already aware of it and doesn’t make a fuss when it comes to brushing or flossing at least two minutes twice per day.
Likewise, as parents we ought to pay more attention to the diet we feed our kids with, knowing how detrimental sugary foods and drinks can be, so it’s best to find sugar-free natural healthy alternatives to protect those little pearly whites.
Even if there’s just one missing tooth, a child could have trouble chewing or issues with the correct pronunciation of words and it should be every parent’s mission to prevent that from happening.
