What Does a Child Dentist Do?

Children’s dentists generally have offices which look quite kid-friendly. The colors are bright, there are toys and games in the waiting room—some even have large-screen televisions on which kids can watch animated movies while they wait for their appointments. These offices are designed to try to make children feel comfortable.

This is because every child dentist knows that kids can get very apprehensive about visiting the dentist. Not every child is fearful or wary of the pediatric dentist; however, a great many kids do feel uneasy and nervous. So, the staff at these children’s dentist offices does whatever they can to ease the tension.

Kids often start out being unconcerned about going to the dentist. For the first several visits, the child dentist will “count teeth” which the child usually finds amusing. The dentist cleans the teeth, which isn’t generally bothersome to most kids. All the while, the child dentist, along with the dental assistants and the rest of the staff, is being entertaining. The dentist works to try to make the child laugh or feel interested in what is going on.

Typically, though, there comes a time in a child’s life when he gets a cavity or has some other dental issue that needs to be fixed. His parents take him to that same child dentist, and the dental visit starts out the same way as before—but this time, the child ends up feeling some pain at the dentist’s office. There is no way the child dentist can completely avoid this. The dentist does all he can to minimize the pain, of course, but the child still feels some pain.

This changes everything. From this point on, the child becomes fearful of going to the dentist. After the dental visit at which the child felt pain, the child is scared that every subsequent visit to the child dentist will bring pain. Now, it is a battle for the parent to get the child to go to the dentist, because the child is worried and afraid.

This is why child dentists have their offices designed in such a kid-friendly manner. Every little bit helps in calming down an apprehensive child, after all. Imagine if a frightened child did not have toys or games or a television with the latest cartoon film to distract him from his upcoming dental procedure—that child would likely be a nervous wreck in the waiting room!

Because children become so anxious and afraid of the dentist so quickly, this is why child dentists receive specialized training for how to deal with children in this type of situation. Children’s dentists actually have to act somewhat like psychologists at some points, coaxing their little patients into believing that they are going to be alright.

At child dentist offices, the dental assistants often also take special training classes. These assistants must also understand how to help apprehensive children and how to work toward calming them down when they are nervous and scared.

For all of these reasons, a child dentist is definitely the best place for parents to bring their children.