Child root canal

[TheGreenJoker]

My son is petrified of the dentist. He’s got to have root canal due to falling off his bike
Any tips plz as he’s scared and im scared for him he’s 14
If he don’t have it, his tooth could fall out.
It’s his front tooth as well :(

I've had quite a few and they are not as bad as commonly thought. Having the injection is unpleasant for a few seconds, although I believe there is something that can numb your gum so you don't feel the injection. Once the tooth is numb, you don't feel anything at all, it's just quite a long, boring process. Afterwards, it might feel a bit bruised or tender but I've never had any pain that I've needed to take painkillers for.

I have been in the exact same position with my 13 year old son when he came off his scooter and smashed three of his front teeth. One needed a root canal. To be fair it was more me that was nervous he had never had any dental treatment before so didn't know what to expect and I down played it a bit so not to scare him. He said the worst bit was the injection but you can ask for the area to be numbed first before they inject

Headphones can help during the appointment x

I have had many:( root canal’s, and they were not painful, he will have plenty of pain relief, dentist are gentle and he will be fine

Can your partner take them? Unfortunately if you are anxious or have dental phobias yourself your child easily picks this up . If their other parent is ok with the dentist can take them that might be better.

Root treatment is really not difficult or painful, particularly on a front tooth but it is time consuming , as may be any repair work necessary afterwards.

Depending on whether or not the nerve is already dead they may not even need an injection .

I’ve done root treatment on 7 year olds with no problems.

However key is preparation,
you may need an injection , you will feel a scratch
you will here the drill and there will be a bit of water
they may use an air puffer
you will feel a bit of a scraping sensation and some sound
there will be some funny tastes
the dentist will need to take some x rays , you will have a plastic holder in your mouth
they may have to put a temporary filling in that tastes a bit funny and finish off the root treatment at a second visit
etc

My fear of the dentist comes from panicking when I can’t swallow (child hood trauma from a dentist who used clamps and would get cross if I so much as moved my tongue) I always tell the dentist my concerns before they start and acknowledge I know it’s annoying when I’m always trying to swallow while they’re working! I find most dentists nowadays are very good at dealing with anxious patients and which means I’m getting much better at going. I’d advise just to talk to the dentist, ask questions, have a grounding technique - I dig a finger nail into my hand if I’m getting panicky, it helps to refocus me!

sorry to hear he needs the treatment but at least the tooth can be saved. Has your Ds had any dental work in the past? Do you have a good feeling about the dentist? Do you have the appointment booked?

Give him stress balls to squeeze

Saves the nurse's hand and my surgery supplies them