2.2 Preparing Families for in-Office Oral Health Care

In-office oral health care can be a pleasant and rewarding experience for children if enough time is taken to establish trust and to orient the child and family to the dental office environment, equipment, and procedures.

Download and complete the form “Dental Office Considerations Checklist” to help determine ways in which the oral health office services and set-up can be improved to accommodate children with special health care needs.

Noises may startle children with sensory impairments or those who have impaired ability to understand procedures. Children may be fearful about unfamiliar procedures and equipment. Introducing all instruments and equipment to the child before using them can help relieve fears. Demonstrating equipment on the child’s or the oral health professional’s fingernail or on a doll can help the child understand the procedure to be performed and feel more secure.

To accomplish procedures safely and effectively often requires two professionals working as a team (e.g., a dentist and a dental hygienist, a dental hygienist and a dental assistant) and projecting a positive, supportive, calm environment.

Involving parents in the child’s care while in the operatory requires good communication before, during, and after the provision of services. Decisions about appropriate ways to involve the parents should be based on discussions before beginning the procedures and on observations of parent-child interactions. (See module 5, section 5.3, Behavior Guidance, Basic Behavior Guidance Techniques, Parental Presence or Absence.)

Because every child’s needs are unique, individual home care and in-office care plans for each child should be established in conjunction with the family and regularly re-assessed to determine progress and the need for changes.