While people may feel anxious about a dental checkup from time to time, most are still able to get through the appointment without too much challenge. People, especially children, struggling with dental anxiety will find it challenging to receive dental care. Dental anxiety is anxiety that focuses on fear and nervousness related to dental care.
We can help patients struggling with dental anxiety at Pediatric Dental Arts in Watertown, MA. If your child has dental anxiety, we can find solutions to help them get through the procedure.
We can help children receive the proper oral health care they need.
In our Watertown, Massachusetts dental office, we ensure that your child is comfortable and relaxed, regardless of the procedure. Upon visiting our office, Dr. Raffa will meet with you to discuss what treatments your child needs. We will create a plan for how to keep your child's mouth healthy and work with their needs.
We will also ease any fears that your child has about dentistry or procedures in general. This way, the parents/guardians will be informed and empowered to make decisions regarding dental care without experiencing any anxiety.
Another easy way to calm your child's fear is to visit our Watertown dental office and meet with Dr. Raffa before any procedure. Taking the time to tour our office, the child can sit in the dentist chair and have a conversation. This will allow the child to become familiar with our staff and office environment.
After this first visit, the child will feel more comfortable during teeth cleanings or specific procedures from familiar faces. During your consultation, we can also discuss what you and your child can expect from a teeth cleaning or a particular procedure. This will help your child to understand how long the procedure will take. We will also go over what dental tools will be used, what the child may feel during the process and what the recovery period will be if any.
At Pediatric Dental Arts, we have found that the more information our patients have about their procedure, the more comfortable and relaxed they feel. This preliminary appointment can help to alleviate the fear of dentists that your child is experiencing.
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In our Watertown dental office, we practice sedation dentistry that can be used to reduce and prevent dental anxiety. Here are some of the questions we are regularly asked about sedation.
Typically not. Sleep dentistry is usually reserved for oral surgery and lengthy procedures. Sedation dentistry will help your child relax, but can also make your child drowsy.
To determine if your child is healthy enough for sedation, we recommend that you schedule an appointment with our dental office. Dr. Raffa will meet with you to discuss the type of sedation best suited for the procedure and the level of dental anxiety the child is experiencing.
Yes, typically children need sedation when having a lot of dental work completed. Sedation can help the child tolerate treatment so the work can be performed with ease. This is a unique specialty and is not offered at every dentist office.
If you live in the Watertown area, call 617-924-1911 to schedule your dental exam so that you can remain in good health or receive treatment for a current condition.
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