Freezing — First Time

It’s never a good day when we tell a parent that their child has a cavity or that they need to have a tooth pulled.  It’s even worse when it’s their first time.

Usually, the parents are very upset by this, but we urge you to not show your concerns or fears to your child as we don’t want them to be afraid or pick up on any anxiety.

We try to catch things early, and many times a child’s first cavity is something we can fix well and usually we need to use freezing in order to do a good job.  And for those times that baby teeth don’t fall out when they should, we can help too by getting them out and give room for the adult teeth to come in.

A child’s first time experiencing freezing is an important event – it is a new experience that can be frightening, but most often, leads to a very proud child because they “did it!” and coping with experiences like these builds their resilience.  We ask that you not discuss freezing or needles with them prior to their appointment.  If they ask, tell them that they have a little hole in their tooth and that the dentist will be cleaning it out and putting a special paste in the hole.

We will, depending on the child’s age and personality, either explain freezing at the appointment, or decide to distract as much as possible during the injection, or both.

Keep in mind that older siblings, or other child family members or friends, may tell them about their dental experiences and this can be a detriment if their stories are exaggerated or meant to scare your little one!  We can usually tell when a child has older siblings because they tell us that “x” told them that the “needle is huge!”  We know you can’t watch everything that is said to your child, but try to keep them in the dark until they see us to allow the dentist to explain freezing in the best way for your child.