New self-help guide for children who are scared of the dentist
Being scared can prevent children from going to the dentist regularly and from completing dental treatment which can lead to them having poorer dental health and ultimately lower quality of life. Children who are scared of visiting high-street dentists are often referred to specialist services for treatment under sedation or end up having to go to hospital for a general anaesthetic. Current treatments do not reduce children’s fear of the dentist so dental anxiety often continues into adulthood.
An expert team, led by Dr Zoe Marshman, Consultant in Dental Health at the School of Clinical Dentistry at the University of Sheffield, has developed the first self-help guide for children (9-16 years) who are nervous of going to the dentist.
The guide is given to the child by the dentist and they work through it together with their parents. in a trial, it was used with 48 children at Charles Clifford Dental Hospital in Sheffield and community dental clinics in Derbyshire and was found to have significant success reducing their dental anxiety.
The guides and resources, which were all developed with anxious children and their parents, and with patient and public involvement from Healthwatch Sheffield are available free online.
Paper copies can be purchased at cost price (generally less than £1) through this link.
