Preparing Your Child for Oral Surgery

Posted by adortalukdar on January 15th, 2015

Adults have been known to get weak in the knees when they hear that they have to have oral surgery. Children are often petrified when they hear that they have to have oral surgery, because children are less capable of understanding why they need surgery, and exactly what will happen during surgery. A child has a vivid imagination and they will take all of the little pieces of information that they have and invent a horrible scenario if someone does not prepare them for the upcoming dental treatment properly.

To begin preparing your child for oral surgery you will need to explain the procedure in terms they understand. In order to do this you will need to understand the procedure completely. Ask the dentist to explain the procedure to you so you can translate this for your child. Sometimes the dentist will have pamphlets explaining what is going to happen. Make sure that you use words that the child understands while you explain this to them, and ask them if they have questions.

If the dentist performing the procedure is someone other than the child's regular dentist then you should make an appointment to take the child into the dental office so they can see where they are going, and so they can meet the people who will be providing care for them. By taking the child to see where they are going you will eliminate some of the stress caused by the "unknown" factor.

Make sure that your child understands that they will not be alone. Children have great separation issues so you should make sure that they understand where you will be during the procedure. The child needs to know that you are close by and that you will be there if they need you to be.

On the day of the procedure play soothing music. Soothing music can calm the child's nerves and help them prepare. Be sure that you take books, games, and other activities with you to the appointment. The period of time between the child's arrival at the dental clinic and the time of the procedure will likely be the most stressful time for them. Take something to distract them and help them to stop dwelling on why they are there.

ABC Children's Dentistry is devoted to providing complete oral care to children so the children will grow into adults with healthy teeth and gums.