How To Prevent Your Child's Growing Pains From Causing Problems At The Dentist
Posted on: 16 January 2018
Children are strong and agile, but even the healthiest child tends to experience growing pains from time to time. Bones grow and expand, joints move to accommodate them, and even muscles, ligaments, and skin have to build new cells to keep up with your child's growth. This is what leads to growing pains, and those growing pains can strike at inopportune times, including when you child visits the dentist. If you want to make your child's next dental appointment as comfortable as possible, give these tips a try.
Stretching
Stretching can do wonders to help alleviate pain and prevent muscle spasms and soreness. It's a good idea for your child to get loose before seeing a dentist.
This is a routine you can perform with your child. Do some simple stretches together, especially focusing on the neck, shoulders, and head. Walk your child through shrugging their shoulders and rolling their neck from side to side. From there, you can have fun making goofy faces at each other. Try to stretch your mouth and jaw as much as you can and encourage your child to do the same. Doing this for a few days leading up to your child's dentist appointment will help them to stay loose while they're being examined.
Muscle Relaxation
A simple neck rub can go a long way in helping to keep your child from getting stiff and inflexible on the day of their appointment.
Depending on your child's age, you can either do this yourself or allow them to do it. Once again, focus on the shoulders and neck. You can also perform a massage on the temporomandibular joints on either side of your child's jaw to help keep it flexible while they're being examined. As an added bonus, a temporomandibular joint massage can help to make acts like tooth brushing easier, too.
Meet the Dentist
Lastly, consider taking your child to meet the dentist before having their actual cleaning or procedure performed. Simply getting comfortable with the dentist beforehand can help to prevent your child from tensing up and creating discomfort in their body.
In addition, your dentist can perform a brief examination to determine if your child has any tense or uncomfortable areas that can be addressed prior to their treatment.
Even children who aren't afraid of dentists can still experience discomfort simply from the way their bodies are rapidly changing. Remember to communicate with your child and talk to your dentist if you have any further questions or concerns.
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