Tips To Prepare Your Child For A Cavity Filling

As would be expected for any first-time experience, it can be quite traumatizing for your child, even if they have had prior dental visits. However, the last visit to the dentist was a complete misfortune for your child as he or she joined the cavity club.

At times, your toddler’s dentist will try to do everything feasible to make your toddler comfortable before, during, and after the treatment, but your infant will still be worried. Here are a few guidelines to help you put together your infant for the dental appointment with the dentist:

What is a Cavity?

Cavity is an infection of the mouth tissues that stem from bacteria. These bacteria act on the teeth and gums within an individual whenever an individual does not adhere to hygiene measures. The bacteria ferment unhealthy foods, including sugars and other processed foods, to produce acids. It goes on with the acid eroding the teeth gradually till it forms a cavity.

As with many orthogonal diseases, the level of decay in a child’s mouth is relative. Sadly, the CDC indicates that early childhood oral health is not very good, but even worse if the children are between the ages of 6 and 8. Half of such kids had cavities in their baby teeth.

Dental fillings are done when a tooth is destroyed by trauma or caries to fill the defect or crack and reconstruct the lost structure. Of course, it is never nice to hear that your child has a cavity, but getting a filling taken care of is a pretty simple procedure that can effectively deal with the decayed enamel and make the child feel more comfortable.

Causes of Cavities in Children

A cavity is a hole conventionally created in a child’s teeth due to poor brushing. Other common causes are also as follows.

• Eating high amounts of sugar or starchy products
• Drinking unfiltered water
• Less saliva flow than normal
• Mouth breathing
• Illness, diseases, or related drugs
• Incorrect oral care habits or wrong choice of oral care products

Tips To Prepare Your Child For a Cavity-Filling

Below are a few tips to prepare your child to visit the dentist for a cavity filling:

Be Calm and Positive
If your baby is terrified of getting a cavity filled, the last thing it wants is to peer at you, feeling irritated, too. Staying calm and high-quality can help reassure your baby and make the visit more manageable for them. So, even if you feel anxious about the visit, do not be negative and stressed when discussing it with your child.

Talk Honestly and Openly
Your young one will likely question you a lot. You may be tempted to leave out some information, but it is better to be completely honest with them. Therefore, explain the procedure in plain language that your child will comprehend. The dentist can also inform your child regarding the procedure and make your child comfortable before the operation.

Talk About Your Options
Will your child remain conscious, or he/she will be anesthetized to reduce anxious feelings and constant pain? Laughing gas or nitrous oxide is often administered to make kids comply with the procedure without pain or any signs of anxiety. Consult your child’s dentist to know if your child should be under sedation.

Mind Your Vocabulary
Words like “pain,” “needles,” or “drills” are unlikely to ease a child’s anxiety about cavity fillings. Instead, using gentle and positive language can help reassure them and make the experience less intimidating.

When trying to understand the procedures in the process, you can try to replace ‘cavity’ with ‘sugar bugs,’ and instead of ‘needles,’ you could say a little pinch that feels funny.’

Talk About Your Experience
If you had a cavity filling done before, discuss it with the child. You can also let your young one look into your mouth to make him understand that the procedure can’t be that bad.

Do Not Make it Look Like A Punishment
Of course, you would prefer that your child learn the importance of personal hygiene, particularly dental hygiene. However, be wary not to make the cavity look as if your child deserved it because he or she didn’t clean well enough. It can determine how your child feels about dental checkups in the future.

How Do Dentists Treat Cavities in Children?

Children’s teeth are cured and filled the same way as adult teeth. Hence, this could be the best place to start if you know how the process is done for adult teeth. If you are new to the idea of filling a cavity, the procedure for filling a child’s cavity is reasonably straightforward:

• First, the dentist drills the tooth.
• Next, the dentist covers the hole using composite or metallic substance,
• Finally, the dentist deposits the filling substance and affixes it to the tooth.
• Your dentist is devoted to keeping you snug while you receive the remedy. A topical anesthetic cream is initially applied to ensure the child’s cheeks and gums are pain-free, and then the needle is inserted into them.

Here are a few differences as well:

A pediatric dentist will use an analgesia that can be safely used with children The dentist will use other significant tools to treat baby teeth and small mouth cavities. Everything depends on your child’s case. The dentist will examine the need and choose which filling is more appropriate for each case (for instance, is the filling applied to a soon-to-fall baby tooth or a permanent adult tooth?).

Conclusion

It is usually preferable to prevent cavities than to treat them. Maintaining oral health requires six-monthly dental examinations and cleanings at the Benbrook pediatric dentist. Brushing two times a day and flossing as soon as you have a meal are good dental hygiene routines that will help your child form healthy habits early on. Please contact us now if you have any inquiries regarding dental fillings for youngsters.