Well, February is National Children’s Dental Health month and studies show at least 20% of children experienced dental fear adults do too. Dr. Stephen Goldberg joins us this morning to help parents get their children to stop dreading the dentist. I guess, first of all, we’ve got to get the parents to stop dreading it. That’s so true, Barbara, but what is the cause of general fear mostly?
Well, this is what it really is. Uh, research and studies coming out of the dental Fears clinic up in Seattle Washington show that upwards of 40 million Americans are afraid to go to the dentist. And the greatest fear is really a pain. But if you really think about it, dentistry doesn’t hurt. It’s not a feeling that hurts. It’s not an extraction that hurts. What really hurts is the beginning of the appointment, which is the injection. This is what’s so many people are afraid of is actually getting the injection. Once you have the injection, you‘re already numb and then nothing else hurts. So this is the greatest fear.
Important fear. Isn’t it? Because I’ve done hurt, but don’t, you have things that you can put on the gum to keep the injection from hurting?
Yeah. And I’ll explain that, but there are really two points of pain when you’re giving an injection. One is, as the needle is pricking the tissue or the gum tissue, the second point of pain is as you’re injecting the solution in is a pressure that builds up. That pressure is a horrible sensation that we feel the topical gels that you’re speaking of, which is correct. It takes care of that initial prick of the needle, but it’s that pressure, that horrible pressure feeling as a solution is going in that really hurts. That’s what brings me to Dentalvibe. I’ve been practicing nearly 25 years now, and I’ve always had a great concern for the comfort of my patients. I wanted them to be comfortable. So they come back and have the dental work that they so desperately need. So I developed a device called DentalVibe. What this is, is a vibrating device that the dentist will turn on. It has a little buzzing sound. You place it in the mouth and it’s buzzing in the area. Where are going to give an injection? When you give the injection, what actually happens is all the patient feels is the vibration because vibration travels faster to the brain in the sensation of pain does. So they cannot feel the pain.
So tell me what your parents say to their children before going to the dentist, but what, what should they say? Should they explain that you’re going to get a shot or should they just leave that till when they get here.
Right? You probably should leave alone. However, uh, one of the most important things to tell children is that their greatest fear is really fear of the unknown. And when they’re there, they have no idea what to expect when they go to the dentist. So if parents can tell the children, you’re going to be there and sit in a chair, the dentist will hit a button. It turns into a couch that has a little tooth counter that will be counting your teeth. Then they even take pictures of your teeth, which of course are the x-rays. Those types of things will you know, allay their fears. That way they won’t have this great fear of going to the dentist.
Now, what about, uh, all of the new inventions or the electric toothbrushes that do all kinds of things, make music, tell you when to stop brushing. That’s a good idea.
Things are so important that actually help to have the child get used to the feeling of manipulation in their mouth because the dentist is going to put their fingers in the child’s mouth. And that could be uncomfortable for, uh, children as well as adults, no one to have their personal space invaded. If they’re used to having that done with an electric toothbrush, the parents can brush their teeth at home. That way when they’re sitting back and the dentist is treating the child, they’re used to having that done, then they’re not so nervous that something bad is going to happen.
Well, we know that kids have to go to the dentist. They’ve got to do that to protect their teeth. So, uh, I guess the big thing is to sit down and tell them all the benefits of taking care of their teeth. That really helps the most,
So much for coming to talk to us about this. Happy to have you. And hopefully, the kids will hear what you had to say and get out there and take care of them. Most of us will have to live with them for the rest of our lives. If you’re over the what, six, seven years old.
