My 5-year-old has her dental checkup coming up next week, and honestly, I'm dreading it a little. Last time she got pretty nervous and ended up crying halfway through. The dentist was super patient and all, but I felt terrible for her (and a little embarrassed, tbh). We've been trying to make brushing fun at home, like using those sparkly toothpaste flavors and letting her pick out her own toothbrush with cartoon characters. But the actual visit still freaks her out.
I tried reading her some books about going to the dentist, and we've played pretend dentist at home a few times. But I'm not sure it's helping much. Wondering if anyone else has had success with different strategies or has any tips that worked for their kids? Maybe something I haven't thought of yet...
You're doing great already, honestly. My granddaughter was exactly the same at that age—books and pretend play helped a bit, but mostly it was just time and consistency. Keep at it, she'll get there eventually... kids surprise you sometimes.
"books and pretend play helped a bit, but mostly it was just time and consistency."
That's reassuring to hear, honestly. But I'm curious—did anyone find that certain pretend play scenarios made their kid more nervous instead of less? My grandson gets anxious easily (takes after me, I suppose...), and sometimes I worry that talking too much about the dentist beforehand might actually build it up into something scarier in his mind. Has anyone else experienced this? How do you strike a balance between preparing them and not making them overly anxious? I'd love to hear how others handle this...
