My child is very anxious, will he/she be able to cope up with the dental treatment?

Adults find dental treatment stressful too. So, it is natural that children will also be anxious about the treatment. This is where the Pediatric Dentist is specially trained. Pediatric dentists in their three years of specialization are extensively exposed to child psychology, child behavior management, painless methods of local anesthesia delivery, minimal to moderate sedation among many other ways to deal with child anxiety. At Tiny Teeth, the ambiance has been specially designed to put the anxious child at ease. The child friendly colour theme, the children’s play area and a TV mounted on the ceiling above the dental chair are favourites among our little patients and help them cope up with the dental treatment.

Will my child require an injection during dental treatment?

Injections are an universal fear. But like any other medicine, injections for dental treatment are not be given routinely. At the same time, they should not be avoided where necessary. When indicated, a dental injection (anesthetic) makes the tooth numb and helps the child go through the treatment comfortably. And, the good news is that Pediatric Dentists are specially trained to administer painless injections. We at Tiny Teeth, use a fruit flavoured numbing cream to initially numb the area of injection. We then use a very very fine and small needle along with lot of distractions, to administer the injection without the child even realizing it. The child would have already been told to expect a “MAGIC” feeling to prevent the anxiety that accompanies the numb feeling that comes, once the effect of the injection sets in. All in all, we do everything to ensure that the injection experience for the child is a breeze.

You would have also heard about children being treated under laughing gas/ happy gas (Nitrous oxide oxygen/inhalation sedation). Very soon, for the first time in a dental clinic in Mangaluru, this facility will be available at our practice. The happy gas will eliminate any anxiety or pain which the child may feel towards an injection.

We also use oral sedation to help very anxious children, cope up with dental injections.

The Pediatric Dentist is recommending dental treatment for my child under sedation. Isn’t that unusual?

Most times we use simple methods of distraction to help the child cope up with the dental treatment. But sometimes children, especially those with a very difficult previous dental experience are unable to cope despite our best efforts. To help these children, we use minimal sedation with a sedative drug administered like a syrup. The sedative helps calm the child down and makes the dental treatment comfortable. The child having accomplished the treatment, thus leaves the clinic in a good and happy frame of mind.