Knowing that many children and adults dread going to the dentist, a North Carolina dental hygienist created funny costumes for her daily uniform to make her patients smile and relax before their procedure.
Seventy-year-old dental hygienist Judy Cornelison discovered early on in her career that people are frightened about going to the dentist. Thus, she wore costumes or hats when she met her patients, calling it an "icebreaker."
It started in 1994, almost three decades ago, when one of her patients gave her a hat for a New Year's Eve party. She then brought that hat to work, wore it, and observed that it changed her patients' behavior. The mere presence of the hat put her patients at ease, People reported.
Thus, from then on, the costumes never stopped, and it evolved to a singing turkey hat and a full costume like her "one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater" and the superhero "Super Floss."
From horrors stories to funny ones
"I didn't realize people were so afraid of the dentist. But you hear horror stories - and it just makes me happy that I can make them smile at least once before they leave," stated Cornelison, who has since retired almost two years ago but continually fills in at dental offices if she needs to.
According to Yahoo News, when she starts cleaning her teeth, she takes off the costume and leaves the funny hat or the glasses.
During her retirement, her collection of costumes and hats was turned over to one of her patients, an eye doctor. This patient specifically asked for them.
Kids with dentophobia, help them overcome
Dentists like Cornelison struggle with patients, especially kids, because of their fear of going through the procedure. Funny costumes may truly help, but there are other ways parents can help their kids overcome the fear, especially if it has already reached dentophobia.
Dentophobia is defined as a phobia of the dentist. This is much more serious than the fear of going to the dentist.
A lot of reasons cause this kind of phobia. Parents may think that their children's fear is illogical. However, they should understand that deep fears can be very real for a kid. Thus, it needs to be processed accordingly with sensitivity and compassion.
Brentwood Pediatric Dentistry stated that the common causes of children having dentophobia are their fear of pain, the dentist, the noise of the dental instruments or the dental tools themselves, and their prior experiences that have caused them anxiety.
When kids have dentophobia, here are the suggested actions parents can take.
1. Talk with their children.
Experts say this is the only way to find out what is troubling the children when they see their dentists. Parents should intentionally ask and listen to their children without condemnations or getting angry. Make sure to clarify and ask further questions to understand what they are going through.
2. Roleplay
Child therapists use this " tactic " to enable kids to develop emotional and social skills. Thus, it will help if parents will roleplay going to the dentist with their children so that they can develop a healthy perception of what will happen when they visit dental clinics.
3. Find a pediatric dentist.
It would be better for parents to bring their children to pediatric dentists who work exclusively with children, thus, making them understand children better than general dentists. Parents can be comforted knowing they are skilled with kids and have additional knowledge on the health and behavior of children.
4. Use music
Music has the innate ability to calm nerves and anxiousness. At their next dental visit, parents can ask permission from the dentist to have their children bring their headsets and electronic devices where they can store music and songs that can calm them.
5. Sedation
When the cases are a lot more serious, wherein the phobia is causing the kids panic attacks and uncontrollable restlessness, parents can permit the dentist to use sedation. However, they must ensure they have talked with the dentists about its risk and possible side effects before they do.
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