Why is it that some (maybe most) children cry and are very fearful of the dentis!

Why is it that some (maybe most) children cry and are very fearful of the dentist's chair??

we've all heard stories about kids fighting to keep out of the dentist's chair, crying and resisting the ominous. yet why do kids do it??

i'll always remember a dentist saying to me a few years ago when i was 35 "now if anything goes wrong you will let me know". when i saw him the next visit i also remember that whlie he was working on my teeth i started to weep in the chair - a tear ran down my face. afterwards i noticed that the bottom of a canine tooth had been reshaped. obviously what happened was that he had broken the tooth during the work. i told him about this and he said that i must have ground it down during my sleep. what crap!!

so with that in view why do kids resist the dentists chair??

2 weeks ago
i got to add it - i think kids think that the dentist is going to sod their teeth up - they've sodded mine up over the years

2 weeks ago
perdonay - he broke part of the tooth

2 weeks ago
i did have anaesthetic so how would i have felt a tooth being broke??

The main reason why children are afraid of the dentist is... their parents and relatives. It's true! Parents will tell their child before his or her first visit that "it's not so bad! He or SHe probably won't even get a needle!" or older siblings will try to scare the child by telling them that "the dentist uses a drill on your teeth and freezes your mouth with a giant needle that hurts a lot! " or "He's gonna pull all your teeth out!"

I can't stand it when parents or relatives use words like needle, drill or pull your teeth out. The child is so afriad before he or she even gets to the office, thinking that a needle is imminant when they are only getting a cleaning.

When a child asks thier mom or dad why he or she is going to the dentist, I wish they would just tell them that "you are going to get your teeth brushed" or "they are going to make your teeth bright and shiny", Avoiding scary words.

If a child is going for a filling, never say drill or needle! Their minds automatically register "PAIN!" Tell a child that "your tooth is full of sugar bugs and the dentist is going to use buzz lightyear (the drill, remembering to not say drill!) to zap them away, then he's going to fill the hole the sugar bugs made with a filling to stop the sugar bugs from returing."

A child is only comfortable when he or she is not anxiously awaiting pain or an event that they find scary. Avoiding scary words or scenerios when talking to a child about the dentist is the first step to eliminating fear and building confiedence when a child walks into a dental office.