My five-year-old daughter hates the dentist. She’s hard to treat under the best of circumstances, but the last few appointments it has become clear she has a lot of decay, more than I would expect for a child her age. I assure you we do brush her teeth. They can’t get to it because she won’t stay still in the chair. Every time they try she takes off running. What do we do to get her the treatment she needs?
Pamela
Dear Pamela,
Kids are tricky sometimes, but it is fairly normal for them to be rambunctious. One thing I would suggest is you find a pediatric dentist who also offers dental sedation. This way your daughter can receive all the treatment she needs while sleeping through the whole procedure.
What you don’t want is to let the needed treatment go and then have a dental emergency on your hands. This can not only end up with your daughter in a lot of unnecessary pain, but dental emergencies have a way of turning into life-threatening emergencies quickly.
I did want to address her extensive decay. I do believe that you care about your daughter and that you are brushing her teeth as any good parents would. For her to develop significant decay at her age would mean that she is having tons of snacks and possibly juice or soda throughout the day.
It may mean some tougher love on your part but if she is snacking a lot or drinking sugary drinks, her body doesn’t have time to keep her teeth properly defended from all the intake. My suggestion would be to limit her snacking to no more than one a day. You’ll likely find she is eating her meals better as well, as a result of having to wait on her food.
This blog is brought to you by Lexington, KY dentist Dr. John Weaver.