The thing that is important is mental and emotional development. Often children have a traumatic experience and develop a dental phobia that might go well into their adulthood. It is important when we see children that we make an effort to develop a friendship with them to develop trust and rapport with the child. In many cases, this is more important than rushing in and fixing a small dental problem. We have to balance trust and problem-solving. Some parents can be hard on the child and they scream and shout for their child to keep still and the dentist has to hold the child and force our way in just to pull out a tooth or do a filling. I guarantee if we do that the child will not want to cooperate and come back again.
In any kind of emergency, like if the child has massive infection or trauma, we have no choice but to treat straightway. The overarching principle is that we try not to traumatize the child and develop a friendship and trust with them and the parents. Some parents are not helping by threatening the child, saying that if they don’t brush, they will pluck out the teeth.
