When your child is scared of the dentist

For many children, the dentist stirs up a particular kind of worry — the sounds, the chair that goes up and down, the unfamiliar tools. It is a feeling that deserves to be taken seriously, not rushed past. Giving a child the words to name what they feel, and the chance to hear their worry held in a story, can shift the whole experience. When the moment feels a little familiar, it becomes a little smaller too.