Hi Folks
My 13 year old daughter was told by the dentist that she needed to have some fillings done. However, as her appointment is approaching she says she is frightened to go through the procedure and the fact that it will 'hurt'.
How can I convince her that it will not be as bad as it sounds?
Does anybody know what is involved in this procedure?
Thank You.
Hi,
I can understand how she feels I hate the dentist!!!
Telling her it won't hurt possibly won't help, it might for this visit but it won't for future as she will feel some discomfort and will then feel you have just lied to get her there, I would explain that yes there will be some discomfort but that the dentist will do everything they can to stop it hurting too much, and that the result of it not being done would be much more painful than the repair work will be now.
If it isn't done the tooth will rot from the inside out and the pain will be much much worse than having the repair would be now to stop it getting too that stage.
When they carry out a filling, the drill into the tooth to clean it, the dry it and apply the filling material which gets pushed into the hole.
GTTS
Thanks GTTS
I do feel for anyone who is frightened of the dentist.
I try to work on the principle that if a person understands what is going to happen they are less fearful.
With a child it is important to get a "child friendly dentist" to attend her. When talking to your daughter about it, keep the explanation simple. Respect her fear but let her see that you are not worried otherwise it will add to her fear, you be understanding towards her and confident about having the filling done and her fear could be lessened. It is a filling which is, in this day and age a pain free process.
Does she understand the structure of the mouth and teeth? If she doesn't, I would explain in simple terms that each tooth sits individually in a dip in the jaw. The tooth is attached to the jaw by a very thin piece of flesh which holds it in place.
I little bit of one tooth has gone rotten so the bad bit needs to be taken out. This is done very easily by a drill which is very, very small but does make a lot of noise. There is NO connection between the noise of the drill (which can be frightening) and what is happening to the tooth that is being mended (which will be gently done).
Prior to this and probably the most important, a local anaesthetic is given so that no pain is felt while the filling is done. VERY IMPORTANT before the injection is given, the dentist should put some liquid anaesthetic on a cotton bud and place it in the mouth for a few seconds where he is going to inject. This numbs the injection site and the injection is not felt at all. Sometimes the taste isn't particularly pleasant but that is minor. Part of the mouth will go numb but there will be no pain when the tooth is prepared and filled.
She needs you to keep it in proportion and have a calm approach as it is a minor thing she is having down but in her mind it is huge event.
Respect her fear, it is real.
Forgot to add, you could tell her that the very worst she would feel is a scratch but she shouldn't even feel that.
I had a tooth extracted as it was beyond repair ten years ago it took a trainee dentist 45 minutes to final admit he couldn't remove it after pulling yanking and twisting he just never had the strength to actually pull it out, there was so much blood everywhere I had a panic attack whilst he called for a dentist from another practice to come and do it, she turned up and yanked it out on the first attempt it was horrific!
Slim, you poor thing !
There must be a lesson in your tale of woe ----- never volunteer to be a guinea pig. Run for the hills at first sight of their approach!
Oh, Bless You
Lol! yeah tell your daughter my story and that will shock her into brushing her teeth so she doesn't have to go to the dentist for fillings in the first place! Haha!
I had a wisdom tooth removed about 30 odd years ago - two injections at least, took the dentist over half an hour to pull out, including drilling part of the jaw bone out, and literally having his knee on my chest to get enough leverage. He said if he'd known it was going to be so bad, he'd have sent me to the dental hospital to have it done there.
A couple of years ago, I needed to have another removed - told the dentist (a tiny, petite girl) about the effort of the first one - she said no problem. 5 minutes later (including local) it was in her hand!! 🙂
Thanks Folks.
Say to your daughter that it would not hurt.
Tell her about your own story that when you are little in your childhood you were very brave and always ready to go to Doctor for strengthening my teeth. Speak your daughter about the reward, that if she will go then you will give her own choice reward. I think it will work.