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First visit  Before a child becomes a patient, they should get accustomed to the centre and people who work here. This should be done before a child has a toothache. Taking into consideration psychological and anatomical conditions, children are difficult and demanding patients who need special care and attention. Each child needs to be treated individually with best medical skills. Emotional trauma and pain experienced by the child in the dental centre due to incompetent procedures may lead to dentophobia, that is fear of going to the dentist in the future. Unpleasant experiences in the childhood are remembered for a long time and make further treatment more difficult.
Dentophobia may manifest with irregular breathing, tachycardia, excessive sweating or trembling. It may lead to hypersensivity (anxiety type). In order to avoid it, you should see the dentist as soon as your child is two or three years old.
The child is a good observer, that is why a treatment of a relative (sibling, parent) in his or her presence makes it easier for the child to trust the dentist. Medical staff must be very well prepared before a child’s visit. It is important to raise child’s interest and to establish a good contact. The child will be most certainly interested in the look of his or her teeth. Thanks to an intraoral camera, children may see their teeth magnified on a screen. It is doctor’s job to make positive associations, to release emotional tension and to make the child relaxed. It requires a lot of effort and work.
A skilful approach during the first visits may lead to trust which in consequence will lead to systematic check-ups. In some children with a negative attitude, premedication is used. Drugs used in premedication before an elective dental procedure lead to psychical calmness.
It is important for a parent to explain the idea of a dental treatment to a child. Children must not be threatened with dentists. Nowadays dentists have a few methods of relieving pain. For local anaesthesia in children, computer system Wand is often used. It allows us to administer anaesthetic agent painlessly. In our practice we also use nitrous oxide (laughing gas) which makes the patient relaxed and calm (without loss of consciousness). After visits, children are awarded with toys or stickers. They are happy when they see their teeth fixed, especially when they have colourful fillings. Whether the child will take care of the teeth and visit the dentist regularly in the adult life or whether they will avoid it, it all depends on the course of the first visit to the dentist
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